Of Guardians and Turtles
by One Septic Markiplite
Summary: First AU. "I...need you to take care of my sons, Fury." "Of course, Yoshi. but you know they'll have to be separated?" Fury asked. Splinter knew. He hated it, but Shredder finally caught Splinter. "Yes. Just...make sure they are reacquainted, when the time is right." One last desperate request. Cover by my personal Bestie. Bask in its glory, people! Seriously, BIG accomplishment :)
1. They need to be separated Understand?

**THIS IS THE BRAIN CHILD OF ME AND MY FRIEND, HARDYGAL. BEFORE YOU ASK, SHE DOESN'T HAVE A PROFILE HERE, BUT THAT'S WHAT SHE HAS REQUESTED THAT SHE BE KNOWN AS ON THIS SITE. ANYWAY, THIS IS MY FIRST AU, SO PLEASE BE GENTLE. THIS BUNNY IS HARDYGAL'S, AND I TOTALLY DIG THIS IDEA! PLEASE EXCUSE THE LINES. NOT SURE HOW TO GET RID OF THEM ONCE THEY'VE STARTED POPPING UP. ANYWAY, R&amp;R! NO FLAMERS ALLOWED!**

**~LEOFAN221**

Splinter reached hesitantly reached for his phone, hating himself for what he had to do now. But, there was no other way. It had to be done. He loved his sons too much to keep them with him, where they would surely be destroyed much sooner than Splinter would allow. And so, here he was, calling in one last favor from an old friend, even after he had been mutated. Nicholas Fury's contact information appeared on the screen, and Splinter pressed talk. After four rings, the man picked up.

"_Hello, Fury here?"_

"Hello, old friend. Listen, I-" He was cut off as Fury recognized who was calling him at this ungodly hour of four-thirty in the morning.

_Yoshi?! Is that you?!" _

"Yes. Now, I have a large favor to ask of you." He says, not able to keep the heavyness out of his voice.

"_What kind of large favor, Yoshi?" _Fury asks, understandably wary. Splinter would be, too, if an old friend called him in the wee hours of the morning, and asked a large favor.

"An old enemy of mine has discovered my whereabouts, much sooner than I could have anticipated. And I know you don't normally do this...but...would you watch over my sons? I can't bear to lose them. No matter what happens to me, they must live on. Please, Fury. I have no other options." A gasp from the other end. Again, understandable. Splinter could just see Fury rubbing the bridge of his nose as he sat, maybe at a table, maybe in bed. It wasn't possible to tell.

"_Of course, Yoshi. But you do realize that I could send a team in after this man, take care of him for you. or...I could that team to your location, for protection." _despite everything happening, everything that's about to happen, Splinter smiles. He had know Fury would put out that request, but those words fell upon deaf ears. He had considered, and no. splinter didn't need anyone to protect him, or fight his battles for him. So, as politely as possible, he declines Fury's kind offer.

"_You sure, Yoshi?"_

"Yes, I'm sure. Thanks for the generous offer, though." Splinter responds, still smiling. It drops, however, when he has to ask where he should drop off his kids.

"_Oh, the apartment building on First and Fourth will be fine. I have agents in New York City. I'll give them a call, and have them pick them up. I appreciate the sacrifice you are making. One more thing; they'll need to be separated. Do you understand?" _Of course he understood. For their safety, they wouldn't know each other until the time was right. It was the only way...

"Yes. Just, make sure that they find each other, when the time is right. Please." He asked. Final request. It was the best he could do for them now.

"_Until we met again, then, Yoshi." _Fury said. Splinter chocked back sobs, blinked back tears, and wiped his face before responding.

"Until we meet again, Fury." Without another word, the call was terminated. Quickly securing the amulets he had prepared with their names on them, in the colors that Yoshi thought suited each of them, around their tiny necks, he hugged them close for a few moments before picking up Leonardo and Raphael and placing them on his shoulders. Donatello and Michelangelo went on his hips. He left the Lair, and walked through the sewer system, wanting to make the most of his limited time left with them as he walked unhurriedly. He only emerged to cross the street when he arrived at the right place for the drop off. He was here in time to meet Fury's agent at the designated spot. He brought his sons down from his shoulders, and hugged them to him for the last time, tears running down his face. The children were sleepy, and it took only a few lullabies to get their eyes to droop, and finally, close in sleep. Splinter reluctantly broke free of the contact, and rose to shaky knees, to unsteady legs. His hand slowly reached into his hakama, and drew out the note, reviewing it swiftly before placing it in between two of his sons.

_To whom it may concern,_

_Please do not be alarmed by my sons' appearance. They are very kind and gentle souls. Please care for them as best you can, if Fury decided to pair you with one or more of them. I know you wouldn't normally do something like this, and I cannot express my gratitude for your possible assistance in this matter enough to justify my feelings. I think that it would be wise to train them in the warrior's way. However, I will leave the decision up to Fury. I know you will help my sons become good and honest boys, and, hopefully, men one day, if fate throws one of my sons your way. _

_Hamato Splinter._

Satisfied, he hesitantly reachedfor the door. With a swift, yet firm knock, and he was gone, back to the tunnels he knew so well, after watching his sons being drawn into the apartment building by gloved hands. His heart broke as he heard the soft moaning that came from each of his sons as they were drawn into the dark home. He was so distracted with thoughts of his sons, and what would happen to them, that he never noticed the dark suited man, creeping along beside him, a leg out and reaching for him, until he tripped and fell to the floor. Ending the fall in a roll, he saw the shadowy figure.

"Where are the Kame, rat?" he hissed, voice deep, and laden with menace. Splinter smiled.

"Do you honestly think that I will tell you anything?"

"No. just checking." The man replied, and Splinter suddenly felt a sharp pain in-between his shoulder blades. He collapsed to the floor, the life already nearly depleted from his body. Through the red mist of death, Splinter saw his murderer step from the shadows, and activate a communicator on his wrist. However, Splinter was dead before he could hear what was said.

"The rat has been taken care of, master." He said, sounding genuinely pleased with himself.

"_And what of _ _the Kame?" _An equally sinister and evil voice came from the other end of the line.

"Unknown as yet, master. The rat wouldn't tell me anything."

"_Well, no matter. They won't last long without someone to take care of them, anyway." _The second man replies, sounding genuinely amused at the presumed fate of the four turtle mutants. He wouldn't be seeing them for fifteen years.

Natasha Romanov wasn't expecting to find four baby turtles outside the drop point. She had quickly drawn them inside, two at a time, before anyone saw anything. She smiled despite herself as she looked at them, all asleep. A few of them were sucking their thumb, and they all snuggled against her chest. She blushed slightly, not used to having something, or someone, show affection to her. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she sent it to her head set, so she could still hold the four little terrapins and talk to whoever was calling. "Yes?" She said. Her usual response when she picked up.

"_Fury wants a status report on the pickup, Agent Romanov." _Agent Phil Coulson replied, not sounding annoyed, which meant he was.

"Pickup successful, Coulson." She said, not one to mince words.

"_Good. Bring them in, please. We need to get to work on dispersal." _Natasha rolled her eyes. Count on Coulson to treat the fate of four little guys like just a regular drop-off of packages.

"Glad to see you are so concerned about these four little...guys." Natasha said, not wanting to spoil the surprise. Not yet.

"_Um-hm. Just return to base, and we'll figure it out from there." _with that, Coulson hung up. Natasha ended the call on her end, too, and tried to get off the couch without waking the four little guys on her lap. One by one, she laid them out on the couch. None of them woke up, thankfully. She found a box big enough to transport the four little guys out to the car, at least. Carefully laying them inside before bracing herself, she picked it up.

Coulson didn't exactly approve of taking in four more little kids, much less having to raise them. He patiently waited for Natasha to arrive with the sons of Fury's friend. Just because he was going along with it doesn't mean he had to like it. After about fifteen minutes, a car pulled into the base, and Natasha Romanov emerged from the vehicle. Going to the second door, she opened it, reached in, and drew out a cardboard box. Coulson could hear her grunt in exertion as she came closer. Coulson motioned for an agent to assist Natasha, but she merely held onto the box tighter. She walked inside, and dumped the box as gently as possible onto the couch. She then stretched her sore arms, and sat down next to the box. Coulson came over and stood next to Natasha. "Rough time?" He asked, smirking. Romanov sent him a death glare before speaking through her pants. "You don't know the half of it." She growled. "You have no idea how heavy these guys are." She said, motioning toward the box. Coulson moved closer to it, and reached out to open it

"Just to warn you, they're not normal." Natasha said, now over her pants. Coulson raised an eyebrow, but didn't make any further comment as he eased the blankets surrounding the four bodies back. His breath caught at the sight that beheld him.

"Are you sure these are the right...kids?" Coulson asked, momentarily losing his composure.

"Yep. They were at the right place, right time. Those are Hamato Yoshi's sons." Romanov said, eyes closed as she relaxed on the couch. She handed him a note, and Coulson quickly read it before looking in the box. Coulson smiled that small trademark smile of his as he gazed down at their sleeping forms. They were all wearing amulets of a different color. One blue, one red, one purple, and one orange. Blue seemed to be trying to envelope all if his brothers in his arms, and Orange was apparently returning the embrace. Purple and Red were sucking their thumbs. It was adorable. Coulson wished his phone had a camera. This was a great photo op. He found himself wanting to hold them. Before he could guess why or what he was doing, he silently and carefully scooped up the one wearing the orange amulet. He was the smallest of the four turtles, and Coulson shook his head at himself and chuckled as he rocked the little thing back and forth smoothly. He seemed so happy in Coulson's arms, probably because Orange thought that Coulson was his father, Hamato Yoshi, and Heaven known where that guy was. Coulson smiled as the little guy cooed softly in his sleep. Idly, Coulson checked the flip-side of the small amulet. The word Michelangelo was carved carefully into the wood. He leaned over, careful not to disturb anyone, and checked all the amulets on a hunch. Raphael was under the red amulet, purple was Donatello, and blue Leonardo. So, now the four had names. All they needed was caretakers/parents. Secretly, of course. Fury would probably charge the Avengers with these little guys. But that wouldn't stop Coulson from putting in a request to at least be close to this little one. Michelangelo, like the Renaissance artist. Come to think of it, all the names were after Renaissance artists. Funny, that was a bit of an odd theme to pick. But who was Phil Coulson to judge Yoshi on what he named his sons? He wondered of Yoshi had named them that night, when he had carved the names into the amulets. No, he decided. It had required too much thought to have been done on the spur of the moment. He motioned an agent over to follow him with the box after carefully putting Michelangelo back into the box.

He tapped on the door to Fury's office not three minutes later.

"Enter." Came Director Fury's voice from the other side of the door. Coulson entered, followed closely by the agent carrying the box containing the turtles.

"We got them, sir. Agent Romanov picked them up at the drop off point without a hitch." Coulson reported as he entered, leaving the other agent to put the box down and awkwardly back out of the room. Fury came out from behind his desk.

"Good. Wait...why are they in a box?" Fury asked, lifting the lid. He straightened after a few seconds; his version of looking startled. Coulson handed him the note, and he quickly read it. Fury nodded when he was done reading. "Good. Now, we've gotta lotta work to do."


	2. The Drop off: Part I

**WHOO-WHOOO! SECOND CHAPPIE! THIS IS A LOT OF FUN TO WRITE, AND I HOPE YOU HAD A LOT OF FUN READING THE PROLOGUE. THE NEXT ONE PROBABLY WILL BE ABOUT THIS LENGTH, BUT THEN IT SHOULD LENGTHEN OUT A LITTLE. WE'LL SEE HOW IT GOES. ANYWAY, YOU KNOW THE DRILL. R&amp;R, AND REVIEWS ARE LIKE OXYGEN. EXCEPT FLAMERS. THEY BURN ME SO BAD, I CAN'T TYPE NO MORE...XD. **

**~LEOFAN221**

Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, wasn't expecting a knock at his door at seven in the morning, to start the list of things he didn't expect today. Second, he didn't expect his S.O, Director Fury, to be standing in the doorway, in the middle of the thunderstorm. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, since he had just woken up, he opened the door more, he invited Fury inside.

"To what do I owe this...honor, Director?" He asked, as Fury stepped inside, clutching something big inside his coat. Fury's coat was zipped up all the way, so Steve couldn't see what it was.

"Thanks. Nasty weather this morning."

"Yeah...um, what brings you here, Fury? New assignment?"

"In a way, Captain." Fury said, moving over to the couch and unzipping his coat. He had his back to Rogers, so he still couldn't see what was inside.

"What kind of assignment?"

"Come over here, and see." Fury replied, now leaning over the front of the couch, then standing up again. Steve hesitantly stepped closer to his couch, looking over Fury's shoulder with a secret curiosity. Steve gasped at what he saw there, sleeping on his couch, fidgeting fitfully. It was a humanoid young turtle, no older than two, wearing a blue amulet.

"How is that my assignment?" Steve asked, gesturing toward the child on the couch.

"He doesn't have a father. I was kinda hoping that you would fill in the position for my friend, Yoshi."

"Who's Yoshi?" Rogers asked, eyebrow raised questioningly.

"An old buddy of mine, and this guy's father. Presumed dead." Fury replied.

"What led you to that presumption?" Steve asked, squatting down next to Fury, eyes never leaving the turtle child.

"He called me at four thirty, asking for a favor. Needed me to take care of his son." Fury said, not wanting Steve to worry about all four. "Told me that 'one of his enemies' had resurfaced. He was desperate to keep them alive, no matter what happened to him. He even refused a protection squad. I arranged a drop-off with one of my agents, and they brought him in." Fury said, face showing no hint that he was lying. Steve looked pensive.

"Why me? Why not one of your agents?"

"Yoshi asked that he be trained to fight, and you're the best fighter I know. And the most honorable. I believe Yoshi would want his boy to be raised honorably, and well. You up for the challenge, Captain?"

"Heck yes, Director!" Steve replied, now holding the boy he would call his son.

"One more thing; keep him a secret, no matter what, until further notice." he said as he left the small apartment.

"You got it, Fury." Steve replied, but Fury was already gone. Steve looked at Leonardo, who was looking around curiously.

"Leo-bo!" The child suddenly cried, giggling and reaching for Steve's face.

"What the heck! You can talk! Wait...Who is that?" Steve asked.

"Leo-bo!" The child repeated, pointing at himself. He resumed looking around the apartment, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He looked at Steve, eyes filled with curiosity.

"Daddy, where Raphie-bo?" Steve started at being called 'Daddy,' but quickly regained his composure.

"Who's Raphie-bo?" He asked the child, but received no response. The child had already fallen asleep.

"You want me to do WHAT?!" Tony yelled at the calm Phil Coulson, standing in the lab inside Stark Tower. The turtle that Coulson had 'asked' Tony to be caretaker of was playing with the high tech tools and equipment as if they were mere children's toys. He cooed happily as he teethed on the handle to a screwdriver.

"Raise Donatello here." Coulson repeated calmly.

"Uh-uh! No way! There is no room for a kid here!" Tony protested to deaf ears. Coulson was resolute.

"Then what about Malibu? Nice big house, plenty of extra space-"

"Taken up by Pepper, Coulson! She'll freak out if she sees him, and you know that!"

"Maybe, but think about it this way. If you don't watch him, he'll die." Coulson said, bringing up cold facts to make a case. Tony smirked and wagged his finger reprovingly at the agent.

"I think I'd know when I'm being guilt tripped. No way, Hosea, ever."

"I'm not guilt tripping you, Tony. Merely pointing out facts. Donatello's father is most likely dead, so he has no one to care for him." Coulson stated. Tony blinked.

"How can you be so sure?" He asked, trying not to appear like his armor was cracking. Falling apart, actually.

"His name is, or was, Hamato Yoshi, a Japanese immigrant. Old Friend of Director Fury's. Last night, he called in a favor. He asked that we care for his son here, because an enemy of his has resurfaced faster than Yoshi could have predicted. Hasn't been heard of since he dropped off Donatello at a inauspicious location." Coulson said, voice even, as if giving a report. Tony's arms crossed, putting up a 'tough guy' attitude.

"I am not a masochist, Coulson. I will not take on a kid, ever. Unless it's mine!"

"Tony..."Coulson sighed, not sure exactly how to respond to that. Tony rolled his eyes.

"I don't know why you are still trying to get me to play daddy to him. I'm not gonna do it." he says, pointing a thumb in Donatello's general direction.

"Because he needs a father in his life, to replace the one he lost." Coulson states. A simple, undeniable, irrefutable fact. One that inwardly shattered Tony's resolve to not go through with this.

"Yeah, maybe, but how do you know that I'm the right guy for the job?"

"Well, he shows signs of intelligence, even at this early age, and we think that you would be perfect to help nurture that intelligence. We need you to do this Tony, as well as keep him a secret, for his safety, and yours." Coulson said, watching as Donatello pulled on a lab-coat, causing himself to get tangled up in it. He struggled with the large-at least to him-piece of fabric. Tony rolled his eyes and smiled as he went over and helped get the little guy out of the coat. Coulson smirked as he turned silently and stalked out of the tower.

Tony picked the turtle up, and turned to verbally acknowledge his defeat at the hands of a child's infamous giggle and innocence. Only to find that Coulson was no longer there.

"Foul play, Coulson! Foul Play!" he called, but Coulson didn't hear him. He turned back to the new 'son' in his arms.

"Well, since you're evidently doing to stay here, you need a nickname. Rest assured that if you get in trouble, I'll still call you by your full name. Let's see...how about...Donnie?" he asked, holding the child out at arms reach. The child squirmed and giggled like...well, like a child.

"D-Donnie-bo!" he cried, taking Tony aback.

"What did you just say?" He asked.

"Donnie-bo!" the child repeated, still giggling helplessly.

"And who am I?" Tony asked, knowing what he would probably say.

"You daddy!" Donnie said, suddenly looking around.

"Where Mikey-bo?" He asked, looking back at Tony.

"Who?" Tony asked, having to sit down.

_This kid really is intelligent. Heh. I like him already. That doesn't make this any weirder, though. _

"Who is Mikey-bo?" He repeated, receiving no response. The child was back to playing with the lab coat.

Coulson, now driving toward HQ, pulled his phone out and dialed a number. It rang for a moment, before Director Fury's voice filled Phil's ear.

"_Tell me you got him to do it." _He said, not wanting to have to take no for an answer.

"Oh, no. I got him to do it, Director. Walked out when he was distracted." Coulson reported, smirk as small as ever. Not betraying the genuine amusement he felt at Tony's face when he saw that Phil had just walked out of there. Well, what he imagined his face would look like.

"_Two more to go, then. Raphael and Michelangelo." _Fury noted. That was the signal that this conversation was over.

"Yes, sir. Be there as soon as possible." Coulson said, voice still even and calm. He ended the call, and returned the phone to it's rightful place in his jacket, and turned his attention back to driving.


	3. The Drop off: Part II

**UM, SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER. I GOT MY COMPUTER IMPOUNDED. ANYWAY, ENJOY! **

**~LEOFAN221**

"Let me get this straight...you 'need' me to 'watch over' a kid with anger issues? With the...other guy still around? You really didn't think this through, did you?" Bruce Banner asked, shaking his head incredulously at the 'request' brought before him. He had been asked by Agent Coulson to take care of a turtle kid wearing a red amulet. The calm male agent smiled and tilted his head, amused.

"Well, Fury did. He needs you on this, Bruce." He said, holding the child. Raphael was asleep, snuggled against her chest. It was a small apartment, here in California. But it had everything Banner needed. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, still trying to process the idea of him caring for a kid who, also, had anger management problems.

"Why me? The...other guy will kill him when he gets older. You know that, right?" He asked, eyes still closed, hands still squeezing his nose. Coulson sighed and slightly shifted the child in his arms. Bruce sighed, and, finally, motioned for the agent to put the child down on the couch. Phil did, trying not to look so relieved to have finally been able to put Raph down.

"So...does this mean you'll do it?" He asked.

"It means I'd like to, if you'll answer some of my questions." Bruce retorted.

"Like what?" Phil asked, leaning against a pole.

"Like what is his name? I can't just keep calling him 'it', 'kid', or 'him' all his life."

"His name is Raphael, and we have reason to believe that his father is dead, so we need you to fill in that position." Coulson said.

"Why me? I mean, this kid, according to you, has anger issues. And I have...larger anger issues." Bruce told him, tilting his head slightly when he mentioned his other, more violent side. Phil Coulson smirked. "Well, you HAVE learned to moderate your anger. We thought that you would be able to help Raphael with his anger. Please, Bruce. We need you to do this." The agent said. Finally, he took a step forward, and shook the middle aged man's proffered hand.

"*sigh* I'll do it, of course." He said, shrugging slightly, as if that had been his decision all along, and was just now revealing it. Coulson smiled as she turned to go.

"Well, that concludes my business here, I guess. So, I'll be ob my way." He said.

"Yeah. Until then, sir." Bruce replied, turning. But Phil had already left. He pulled out his phone, dialed a number.

"_Well?" _Fury asked from the other side of the line.

"He'll do it."

"_Good. And I already know who is gonna look after Michelangelo." _

Agent Romanov walked warily into Fury's office. He was leaning against the desk, relaxed, calm posture annoying the crap out of the confused agent. She stood at attention, and waited for Fury to speak, as she had learned to do a long time ago.

"At ease, soldier." She responded immediately. "You have been instrumental in finding good homes for Yoshi's kids." A statement. Not a question, order, request. Just a plain observation.

"Yes, sir." She replied, knowing it wasn't a question, but having learned the right response over the years.

"Now, I know you'd never normally do this, but I need you, and Barton to watch Michelangelo." Natasha was dumbfounded. Fury expected her and Barton to raise a child, together?! She licked her lips, blinked a few times, and nodded slightly, acknowledging that she had heard him.

"Sir, if I may, why us? What makes us so different from the other agents?"

"Well, Yoshi told me a lot about his sons in his spare time. Leonardo is a natural leader. Raphael is a born warrior. Donatello is an extraordinary scientist. And Michelangelo is a gifted joker. I think you two would be a good influence on him as he grows up. You think Clint is up to it?" Romanov smiled.

"Yes. I do think that he would enjoy raising a child."

"With you." Fury commented, smirking devilishly. (A.N/ NO, he does NOT mean that as, like, a biological thing, or anything like that.) Natasha blushed, not quite sure how to respond to that, and looked down at the floor. Fury nodded toward the door, excusing the embarrassed agent.

Natasha exited the small-ish office, to find Clint anxiously waiting outside, holding their new son.

"Hey, Nat. how'd it go?" Natasha smiled and took Mikey.

"Great, actually. We are parents to this guy now." She said, causing Clint to fist pump the air.

"Yes! That's great...wait, together? You and me? I thought we were giving them to single people?"

"Yeah, normally, but this one has certain eccentricities. He needs special attention. Fury thinks we're the best match for Michelangelo here."

"Well, um, the thing is, I was thinking about calling him Mikey, cus Michelangelo is, like, five syllables long. So I wanted to give him a nickname."

"Aww...that's cute, Clint. Mikey, I like it." Nat said, tickling Mikey lightly. He squirmed, trying in vain to get free from Romanov's handling, but she wasn't through with him. After a moment, she stopped, and walked to her apartment.

"Oyasumi, Weo." Mikey called, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Honey, who's 'Weo'?" Clint asked, but the child was already asleep.

"Goodnight, Clint." She called, as he turned to head to his own bed.

"Night, Nat. See ya tomorrow." He responded, sounding troubled, even to him, as to who Weo could be.

Location: Secret Base, in NYC

Bishop flopped the file into Karai's hand, and waited for her to deliver it to the Shredder.

"I think you'll find all relevant information included in that file." He said, usual monotone in his voice. The armored man on the throne read it briefly, before handing it back to Karai.

"Good work, Bishop. And you don't know where the turtles are?" Oroku Saki asked, deep voice growling. Bishop adjusted his glasses, and cleared his throat before answering.

"No, Saki. But they can't survive for long without attention, anyway." He said, shrugging casually.

"Bishop!" Saki barked, standing, but seemed to think about it. "You raise a valid point. Now, continue monitoring for any sign of my enemies, of more than those four pathetic turtle creatures. Any sign of the Hamato clan rising again, and report it to me. Do not fail me, Bishop." Bishop dipped his head slightly, before walking out of the room.

**THERE YA ARE! THIS IS KINDA SHORT, I KNOW, BUT IT'S STILL KINDA SETTING IT UP. UPDATE ASAP, PROMISE!**


	4. Truth be told--Dreaming of someone

**THIS CHAPTER(AND THE NEXT FEW ONES) ARE THE FINAL 'SETUP' CHAPTERS, PROMISE. IT'S JUST, ME AND HARDYGAL WANT TO EXPLORE THE GUYS GROWING UP WITH THEIR GUARDIANS. ANYWAY, **

**LOVE LONG AND LOVE TMNT! BOOYAKASHA!**

**~LEOFAN221**

Clint Barton walked warily into the meeting room, cautious as to the mysterious summons. He found Natasha, Steve, and Tony already in there, seated at the table. Steve looked mildly confused, Tony looked impatient as well as impassive, while Natasha looked resigned. Fury was at the head of the table, and Clint took his seat, nodding politely to all as he did so.

"Where's Bruce?" he asked.

"Not here yet," said Fury. "Now, you're all here because I wanted to bring a few things to light. First off..." Fury trailed off as Bruce came walking into the room. The man took a seat, and looked sheepishly at everyone.

Fury looked a little annoyed at having been interrupted, but cleared his throat without saying anything. "This is a call, placed at around four thirty the night before last," Nick said, and the screens in front of the chairs brought up a recording, which started playing immediately.

When it was done, everyone stared blankly ahead, all aside from Romanov, who looked as if this has confirmed a few things for her. Typical.

Nick was playing need-to-know with them, and it was their turn to know. Then, the screens showed a picture of Nick, with a Japanese man standing near him, in army greens. The man was at attention, looking almost mad. There was a woman, too, in the background, swollen stomach evident as she was trying to bend down to do something near the floor.

"The Japanese man is my friend, Hamato Yoshi," said Fury. "This picture was taken five years ago, shortly after we met. And this…" The screens simultaneously displayed another picture, this time of a humanoid rat, running through an alley in a maroon kamino. He was oblivious to the fact that his picture was just taken, as he struggled with an obviously overly stuffed backpack. "This was taken two months ago, by one of our hidden cameras," Fury informed, and then the screens flashed a slightly blurry picture of four mutant turtles, lying amidst a nest of blankets and pillows.

Raph and Don, as Bruce Banner and Tony Stark now knew, were sucking their thumbs as they slept. Blue and Orange, or Leo and Mikey, as Steve, and Natasha and Clint knew them, respectively. Blue light from a TV nearby was bathing the quartet, but the four were undisturbed by it. The scene was the cutest thing the group had ever seen, by far, but soon everyone was standing, except Natasha, and demanding explanations from the eye patched man at the head of the table.

Fury motioned for them all to return to their seats. When they had all done so, and only then, did he speak.

"Yes, there are four turtles total, not only one. We felt it necessary to keep the other three off your mind, and away from potential enemies."

Steve Rogers scoffed. "What 'potential enemies,' Fury? Who would even know about the turtles?" he asked, arms crossed as he slumped back in his chair.

Fury sighed. "Well, before Yoshi ended the call, he told me that one of his enemies had found him far faster than he could have anticipated, as he put it. He asked me to arrange for his sons to be protected, no matter what happened to him. I told Natasha to pick them up. Then, she and Coulson volunteered to help disperse Splinter's sons. You all know the rest." Fury concluded, weight shifted forward, hands on the back of the chair now. A clear sign that this conversation was over and done with

Everyone seated around the table now sat back in their chairs, glad to finally know what their charges were talking about. Everyone left then, the meeting over. Tony especially hurried. He had left Donatello in JARVIS' care, and that little devil was already way too smart for his own good.

The parking job was sloppy at best, but Tony was in a huge hurry. He scrambled out of the car, into the elevator, and pressed the lobby floor button repeatedly, hoping that that would make it go faster. He came out of the confined area to find Pepper Pots, his girlfriend-soon to be Fiance-on the ground, reading with Donatello. Doctor Suess' ABCs, by the sound of it. He walked, slack-jawed, into the room.

"How-...When-...wuh?" He stammered, completely dumbfounded. Pepper laughed, and stood, holding Donnie.

"Well, I arrived about ten minutes ago, found JARVIS trying to entertain this little guy, and figured I'd give it a shot. He freaked the crap outta me when I first saw him, which made him cry. And you know how susceptible I am to a baby crying." She said, all the while walking over.

"Mmm." Tony agreed, nodding. "Well, this is kinda awkward, and I meant to tell you before you had to stumble upon him, but got hung up at a meeting with Fury. Honey, you are not gonna believe this." He said, hands grasping Pepper's shoulders. And he told her everything, because...why not? If she was going to help him raise this child, Pepper would need to know everything.

"Wow. That's a lot to take in." Pepper breathed.

"Yeah, I know. So, you up for it?" Tony asked.

"Do I have a choice, now that I've seen him?" Pepper replied. Tony sighed.

"Not really, but I knew you would, cus you love kids," Tony was going to leave it there, but the look Pepper gave him said he'd better not. "if I'm not mistaken." He added quickly. Pepper opened her mouth to reply, when Donnie yawned.

"Looks like somebody needs to go to bed." Pepper chuckled, and carried him upstairs, to one of the spare bedrooms. It was really close to the Master Bedroom, so if anything went wrong, they could be in the room in three seconds, flat.

Leonardo was five years old, and yet scared out of his wits by his nightmares. It was always the same. He was running through a tunnel, as his dad had called it, something pursuing the helpless child. Then, he tripped and fell. He felt searing pain in his ankle, and then, right before the thing grabbed him, he woke up, being left with a whisper as he came back to.

"Leonardo...wait, my son. I love you..." the figure always said, reaching for the small turtle.

The poor boy was confused. Why did that strange thing come after him, wanting to get him, but telling the turtle he loved Leo, calling him his son? PaPa would know, surely. After all, he knew everything. Leo walked out of his small room, and to his dad's door. He carefully opened the door, not making a sound. He crawled into the bed with his father. Steve Rogers started, but soon settled down again.

"What's wrong, Leo?" he asked sleepily. The tiny turtle was shaking, small tears streaming down his face. Steve noticed, and sat up a bit more, frowning at his surrogate son with concern.

"Did that nightmare come back?" he asked, and Leo nodded slightly through his tears.

Poor guy had been having this nightmare for a few months now, intermittently. The young man had been woken up every other night by his son's crawling into his bed. Leo shifted, then laid still. Steve knew his son was too honest to lie, so when he did, it was really obvious. There was something about the dream that Leonardo wasn't telling the human.

"Leo? What is it? What's wrong?" Leo started a little, then turned into his back, face to his dad.

"PaPa, the ding in my dweam, it talks to me, evewy time. It tells me to wait, that he woves me. Why?"

Steve then knew exactly what his 'son' was dreaming about. His real father; Hamato Yoshi. But Steve had decided not to to tell Leonardo about his true father until he was older. He simply wouldn't understand. He didn't even quite understand why he wasn't allowed to leave the apartment. So, Steve had told Leo not to worry, that the thing couldn't get to him originally. But now, it would get a little more complicated.

"Uh, not sure," Steve said awkwardly. "He might be mistaking you for someone else, just as special as you are," he added with a yawn.

Leo seemed to think about it, then nodded. The blue eyes dulled a little as tiredness caught up to the young turtle, and he went back to his side.

"Oyasumi, PaPa," Leo called, using a language he could only vaguely remember being taught, as his eyes finally closed and he slipped into a deep sleep.

Five year old Donatello was puzzled. Every night for three weeks, he'd had the same dream. Most people would have said that that most likely meant that the dream was important, but Donatello didn't really process things in that way.

A kind, rat like, face, sadly smiling down at him and three other turtles, as he sang lullabies to them. Then, when the rat stood, he put a paper between Donnie and a turtle with sapphire eyes and emerald green skin. The rat leaned in and kissed each of the turtle's on the forehead.

"Goodbye, my sons. May you be happy, someday, together." He whispered so softly, Donnie almost didn't hear. Then, he knocked on a door, and vanished, just like that, back to the shadows. Donnie didn't know why, but the feeling of abandonment was heavy.

Then, a door opened, and two by two, the three other turtle tots and Donatello were drawn into a dark room.

Then, when Donnie opened his eyes, the world made sense again. He always cried, having a heavy sentimentality, something his dad always attributed to Donatello's mother, Pepper Pots.

This time was no different.

As he laid there, feeling sorry for whoever the rat was, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something his parents were keeping from him. But, sadly, he was too good to bring it up, and put them in an awkward position.

So, he simply cried, sobbing into his tiny hand, trying to figure it all out, using logic, like Tony had taught him. Logic, and science. But logic and science couldn't solve everything, least of all things related to emotion. Tony probably would've commented that he found it ironic that the greatest scientific mind in this century (besides his own, of course) had to belong to one of the most sentimental children he knew. Not like Tony didn't care for his surrogate son, but he hadn't exactly learned parenting from the best. But then, that was why he had Pepper.

As Donnie cried, this, unfortunately, woke his mom, at least. Pepper came in and cuddled him, like she always did when he was sad, placing his shell against her chest, rocking back and forth. "Shh… It's ok, Donnie. It's alright. Shh…"

Donnie relaxed, and sniffed a little, before speaking. "Mommy?"

"Yes, Donnie?"

"Why do I keep dweaming about a wat, who always calls me his son, and why are dere other turtles wike me?"

Pepper was shocked. This was something they didn't want to have to explain. She asked him to tell her his dream, and he did.

"I am not sure exactly what it means, sweetie," Pepper said.

Not a total lie: she had no idea who the rat was, but she did know that there were four turtles, not just Donatello. But she had been assured that they were being raised by the best by her boyfriend. He hadn't told her everything, but she had heard enough to know that it had been a hard decision on her son's father, giving them up like that. She wouldn't let her son cry alone, at least. That was something she could tell him. She was his mother, so comforting came with the territory of motherhood.


	5. Dreaming of Someone II--No more Enemies?

A.N: Here is the next, and hopefully final, set-up chapter. Might not be. We'll see, won't we? Oh, before i forget...I have a shout out to DarkNightwatcher, and his/her AMAZING fic, Falling in Love With the Nightwatcher! It's a great story, and you all should read it! Anyway, I think that the guys were dropped off in 2000, so that's what's with the year at the last part. Now R,R, &amp;...NO FLAMERS!

Raphael tossed and turned in his sleep. Partly because of the stifling heat of the summer night, and partly because of the inexplicable dream he was having.

He was sitting on some kinda couch, watching TV. There was a couple more turtles like him there, too. One with sapphire eyes, and emerald skin. Another with baby blue eyes, and lime green skin was cuddled against Raphael's chest, yawning as it continued to watch.

"Go tah sweep, Mikey. We have to wake eawy tommowah," Raph said, and the sapphire eyed turtle turned to look at Raph, concern showing on his small face as the baby blue eyed turtle instantly fell asleep against Raph's chest.

"You, too, Waph. You need sweep, too," he said, and Raph settled down into the cushions of the couch he was sitting on, too tired all of a sudden to contain the yawn that bubbled from his throat involuntarily.

"Goodnight, Weo."

"'Night, Waph. Wove you."

Then, reality set in, and Raph found himself sitting in bed, panting slightly. What was dat about? he thought.

It made no sense; he felt sure he knew these other turtles, at least in the dream he did. Outside of that… Nothing made sense.

Daddy will know, was the comfort Raphael gave himself as he went to find his dad. He was sitting at the table, messing with two vials, mixing them, then observing the results. He was always doing that, and on other days, Raph found it all so insufferably boring. His father had tried to teach his son how to help, but quickly gave up, realizing that his surrogate son had absolutely no interest in any form of science.

Raph walked tiredly over, and heaved himself up into his father's lap. Bruce Banner jumped slightly, nearly dropping the vials of weird liquid he held. "Raphie...what are you doing out of bed?" the man asked, looking down at the young turtle.

"I had a weird dweam, daddy." Came the small, slightly shaken voice. Bruce sighed and rested his chin against the top of Raphael's head as he continued.

"What was it about?" He asked, eyes never leaving the tabletop.

"Dere were othah turtles, and we were watchin' TV. I called one of dem Weo, and deh othah one Mikey, an'..." a pause, fast on the heels of a yawn. "Weo called me by my name, and I tol' Mikey ta go ta sweep..." This time, Raphael had fallen asleep, leaning against his father's chest.

Bruce smiled, and put the vials down. He gently carried his son back to bed, tucking him in expertly. He returned to the table, but then thought better of it, going and brushing his teeth. That done, he went to bed, glad that Raphael hadn't asked any more questions. He had yet to tell Raph about the move to Virginia.

Mikey ran through halls he had never been in before. The halls were totally black, so the harsh darkness caused him to grope around as he ran from a monster. It reminded him of a rat, but larger, more vicious looking from the glimpses he saw. He didn't notice that the rat was sad. He only thought that the rat wanted to eat him, in his childish way of thinking. Clint had let him watch far too many horror movies for his own good.

"Wait, please. Come back!" The rat cried, voice strong, commanding, frightening the child. Unfortunately, Mikey was too scared to notice the pleading undertone to the commanding words, the hurt when they weren't acted on.

Then, a rope wrapped around Mikey's ankles from out of nowhere, and Mikey crashed to the ground, his head hitting the stone as the rat finally had him.

Mikey sat bolt upright, screaming loudly, and shaking violently. Natasha Romanov, his mother, came running in, tank top straps down on her shoulders. She instantly sat down on the edge of the bed, and Mikey threw himself into her arms. He was crying, sobbing loud enough to wake the entire base, but Natasha didn't care. Her son was crying, and she would give anything to get his smile back. But the only thing to do was let him cry into her chest, so she let him.

"It-it was gonna eat me!" the severely frightened child cried, clutching his mother's arms like his life depended on it. She rubbed his shell, whispering comforting words to him, and just waited for her boy to explain clearer.

"T-the wat wanted to eat me!" Mikey screamed. "I was wunning, and wunning but he got me, telling me to come back, but I didn't want to. Then, I twipped cus a rope tied me up," Mikey finished, his voice slowly lowering, head still buried in his mother's shoulder.

Natasha rested her head on top of her son's. "Shhh, Mikey. It was only a dream. No talking rat is going to get you, I promise. It won't hurt you. It was just a dream, son," she said, as Mikey had finally stopped the waterworks.

He lifted his tiny head, and looked at his mom with pleading eyes. "Promise?" he asked, voice sounding desperate, terrified.

Natasha smiled, arms wrapping around Mikey's waist, rocking back and forth gently. "I promise, honey. Now, let's get some sleep, okay?" She said, lying down next to her son in the bed, ignoring the fact that the small size was gonna make her sore in the morning, arms still wrapped around Mikey.

Within minutes, he was asleep, too tired from screaming and crying to do anything else. Natasha gulped, waiting for Mikey to pester his mother for more information on the rat, but the questions didn't come. She could be thankful for that, at least. She didn't want to have to think about having to tell her son that he wasn't hers, that she was merely raising him. She sighed then, deciding to cross that bridge when they came to it. Not yet, however. Possibly not for a long time, but it was for the best, Natasha reasoned. Clint Barton came in, and smiled at the mother and son before returning to his own bed, satisfied that his partner had everything under control once again. She always seemed to, anyway.

**Location: NYC Foot Base. Throne Room. **

**Date: 2005**

**Time: 11:30pm**

Bishop once again found himself in the Throne Room for his monthly report. It was always the same: No sign at all of Shredder's 'enemies' resurfacing whatsoever. But here he was, handing yet another nearly blank report to Karai's smug personage, and she once again walked calmly up the stairs, and handed the file to her father.

"Is this simply more of the same thing?" Shredder asked, voice haughty and impatient. Bishop straightened subconsciously, having learned the danger behind that tone of voice some time ago.

"Yes sir. Simply because there isn't any more of the Hamto clan to oppose you any more. You destroyed them all five years ago, when you had me track Yoshi down, and interrogate him for information on the turtles-"

"Which you failed to retrieve, and had your hit man silence his tongue, rather than bring him here, for further...violent questioning." Shredder interrupted, unsheathing his gauntlet blades and standing abruptly. Bishop took a step back, slightly intimidated by the large armored man on the throne.

"Yes, but you know as well as I that Yoshi would have rather given his life, then betray his 'sons'." Bishop stammered out, desperate to keep the Shredder's wrath from descending upon him. Shredder huffed in frustration: yet another good point made by his henchman. Much like five years ago, when Bishop had brought that file, reporting that Yoshi was dead. He slumped back onto the throne, almost tiredly. It had been a long day.

"You are dismissed. Leave my sight." As always, Bishop bowed slightly before leaving, relieved to have dodged yet another bullet. Then, he walked out of the room, careful not to appear too thankful to be leaving that room.

A.N: And there ya have it! Hope ya liked it! HardyGal and I really enjoy writing this story, and love hearing the reviewer's messages.


	6. Education, Training, and an Ambush!

**A.N: THIS SHOULD BE THE LAST SET-UP CHAPTER, FYI. I KNOW I'VE BEEN SAYING THAT FOR THE LAST FEW ONES, BUT THEN, THIS ONE IDEA POPPED INTO MY HEAD, ONE AFTER ANOTHER, AND YEAH...SORRY FOR THE DECEPTION. ANYWAY, PLEASE ENJOY, R,R&amp;, AS ALWAYS...NO FLAMERS!**

**~LEOFAN221**

~ At age 8 ~

Mikey was extremely bored. His mother was trying to teach him about something concerning ancient cultures, but Mikey's attention wasn't on lessons, much as he wanted it to be. He hated having what his mom called ADD all the time, but he couldn't help it. After today's lessons, he was going out with Uncle Coulson. Mikey knew that Coulson wasn't his uncle's first name, but that was what his awesome uncle had constantly been correcting him over. So, Uncle Coulson he became, but Mikey didn't care, as long as Coulson was happy. It was just a thing of Mikey's; Making people feel better. He had worked magic on his parents so many times, when they had come home from...the jobs they had to do, working for his other uncle, Fury. He couldn't call Fury his uncle when in his presence, for some unfathomable reason, but Mikey always saw Fury as another member of his small family. There was also Aunt Maria, Uncle Fury's Second-in-Command. She was also awesome, but more strict than Uncle Coulson or his parents. She was so much fun, when they could go out for a few hours, or until Uncle Fury called her, and they had to go back...

"Mikey! Focus!" Natasha called, leaning her arms against her son's desk with a slightly irate expression that Mikey knew all too well. It was her 'I will kill you if you don't do as I say' look. Mikey hated that look on his mom's face, especially when she was giving him that look. He looked down at his hands guiltily.

"Sorry, Mom. I was just thinking about Aunt Maria and Uncle Coulson, and when we get to hang out." Mikey apologized, hoping it wasn't too late to avoid a rap over the head. Nat just smiled a little.

"That's very sweet, honey, but you need to learn this stuff, okay?" She said, as always. Mikey had been told he 'needed to learn stuff' from Kindergarden. Since then, it had been at least three hours in this classroom of sorts, trying to learn about anything his parents found important. And sometimes it was his mom teaching, and occasionally, it was Mikey's dad, Clint Barton. That was fun. Clint always found cool ways to explain things. But, sadly for Mikey's 8-year-old brain, his mother hadn't learned that method of teaching. Natasha sighed.

"Listen, honey. How about just a little bit longer in here, then we'll start a different subject in learning, okay?" She bartered, hoping that her boy would like learning to fight the way she and Barton had been taught to. Mikey perked up a little, sitting up straighter in his chair.

"What kind of new subject, Mom?" He asked excitedly. Natasha's mouth twitched in a small smirk.

"Well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" She said. Mikey groaned. He slumped again slightly, and tried his hardest to pay more attention to his mom's lessons. Natasha turned back to the chalkboard, a full smile on her face. She had finally started getting somewhere with her son and his education.

Raphael hated school. He hated it with a burning passion. The only good part about it was when he got to go to the dojo, here in Richmond. It taught Cha-Shen-Ryu style martial arts. His Sensei always said he was a natural at sparing. He was only at the Green Belt level, but that didn't stop him from mopping the floor with his opponents. He preferred to fight with the foam Sai, but sometimes Sensei Aaron wanted hand-to-hand instead. Unfortunately, Sensei also was constantly telling Raphael not to be so harsh on his sparing mates. Raph didn't mean to be so violent, but something about the fight made him just...not necessarily snap, but just let the anger he felt at the way everybody treated his dad out, and it happened to be on the person assigned to him. He had a rep now. Hardly anyone volunteered to spar with him. It was mainly the more advanced students who wanted to try their luck against the odd sleeveless hoodie wearing kid with a hump on his back. It was what he wore when they were arriving or leaving. Long-sleeve thin shirt, jeans, and that sleeveless hoodie of his. When Raphael was in his Gi, either no one notices his green skin, or they just don't give a rip about it. The older kids had been tough, but nothing Raph couldn't handle.

Today was no exception.

He was facing a Brown Belt, and loving every second of it. The girl swung padded tonfa with grace, and her blows were forceful. He ducked a head wing, and caught her weapons in the prongs of his own. He then disarmed her, slammed his hilt into her abdomen, and the match was complete. It had taken about four minutes, but both students were panting heavily. They bowed to each other, and returned to the practice mat, the young woman clutching her stomach area, and watched match after match until the lesson was over. Then, he left the Dojo, and started home. Unaware that he was being followed.

Leo secretly loved learning, although his eight-year-old personality meant he outwardly appeared to hate it. He would grumble when his father came in and woke him up, because he had been up late studying that day's lesson. He simply knew that he should, so he followed his gut. He felt like he should be responsible for his education as much as his father was. Then, he would brush his teeth, eat whatever his dad had made that particular morning, study hard 'till lunch and then, spar with Steve for a few hours. That sparing was the best part of the day for Leonardo. Steve Rogers taught his surrogate son everything he knew about fighting, then spared with Leo to make sure he understood. It wasn't an official style he was taught. It was simply what worked. Leo mainly used his fists, but upon occasion, he would use twin tonfa with slightly longer 'blades' than normal. Steve couldn't be more proud. He only had to wake his son up every other day, and even then, he never had to tell Leo what to do now. Leo understood the routine, and never complained about it, unless it seemed really unfair to Leo. Yet, even then, he would only politely suggest that they do it a different way. But today was a special day; his 8th birthday. That meant no lesson, only light sparing, then the father and son would go and walk around the city, eventually ending up in Cony Island. They would spend hours there, and it was a blast for both.

Again, today was no exception.

They stopped at a hotdog seller, bought a full lunch for each of them, and they sat down at a picnic table.

"Why can't we do this more often, dad?" Leo asked between bites of steaming hotdog. Steve was fanning his, and took a bite tentatively.

"Well..." He was saved from having to answer as Phil Coulson walked calmly over. The two men had been planning on surprising Leo at Cony Island for a few months now. Leo all but dropped his hot dog as he bolted up to greet his surrogate uncle.

"Uncle Ph-" the turtle blushed slightly, and corrected himself. "Coulson!" He finished, hotdog momentarily forgotten as he hugged his 'uncle's' legs happily. Coulson reached down, and rubbed Leo's head affectionately.

"Good to see you, too, Leo. Hi there, Steve." He said, trying in vain to free his legs from the turtle's surprisingly tight grip. After one more moment, Leo let go and returned to his seat. Coulson excused himself, and bought a soda and chips from the vendor Steve used for lunch. Making his way back, Coulson sat down at the table. For a good long while, the three were talking about this and that until after lunch, when the trio went off together, Leo holding both Steve and Coulson's hands as he walked in between them.

A.N: Not all of these are birthday scenes, FYI. Just Leo, because his life is pretty routine

Donatello sat in awe and wonder as his father worked. This was typically how the day went. Donnie would get his daily education from watching his father, asking questions and taking notes, then he would watch Tai-Kwan-Do lessons from JARVIS's archives, to make sure he could defend himself, should the need arise. The video Sensei was strict, but funny at the same time. Donnie hadn't stopped pestering Tony until he got a staff, like the one in the virtual dojo. After a few months, Tony had conceded, with a little help from Pepper. Donnie's mother could convince Tony to do practically anything. Today, Tony was working on a new model of the Iron Man armor, which always caught the young turtle's undivided attention.

"Hey, dad?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah?" Tony replied, voice muffled as he was behind machinery, and had his head in a box of parts.

"Can I take a ride in your armor sometime?" Donnie asked, unable to hold the question in any longer. Tony wondered how long he could pretend not to have heard his surrogate son's question. Obviously, the armor was far too large for Donatello, but the little guy was so enthusiastic, Tony almost couldn't say 'no' to him.

Almost.

The only occasions when that word was said was in times like this. It would be impossible for Donnie to pilot the suit. He simply wasn't big enough yet. Tony came out from behind the machines, and joined his boy at the counter of the 'R&amp;D lab' of sorts.

"Ah, well...this armor is just too big for you right now, buddy" He said, looking at his now distraught son with almost sad eyes. "but...I CAN let you come with me. I could possibly build you your own armor, or just help you with it..." However he was going to finish that sentence was drowned out by Donnie's cheers. Donnie was elated; he would be able to at least build his own armor, with his dad's help, obviously.

"Thanks dad!" Donnie cried once again, nearly choking his father in the death-grip hug Donnie had encased Tony in.

"Hey, man, too...tight. Can't...Breath!" Tony rasped out. Donnie instantly let go, and looked pretty embarrassed.

"Oh, sorry dad. Got a little excited, I guess." He mumbled, and then Tony wrapped his arms around Donatello.

"It's fine, buddy. Just please don't do that again." Tony said, rubbing his throat. Then, the pair got to work, this time, together. The next day, Donnie was drawing his own suit, knowing that he wouldn't be working on it for-probably-a good long while.

A.N: I just realized that I have not introduced two very specific characters. So that's what these two extra scenes are about. Hey, it's either that or have another chapter.

(This takes place around three days after the Mikey scene above, For Your Information.)

Agent April O'Neill woke up early, like, five o'clock kinda early, as usual and headed toward the training room. She was in a simple exercise tank top and shorts, never expecting that there would be somebody in the training room besides herself.

A very unusual somebody, at that.

Michelangelo was up this morning earlier than he had ever been in practically his entire life. He went straight to the training room, trying to practice a set of new moves that his parents had shown him the day before. But, unfortunately, he simply couldn't get it, and he needed to, in order to advance in his lessons, something he wanted almost desperately. Then, he heard someone coming down the hallway that led to the room. Thinking that it was merely one of his parents, coming to check on him, he kept practicing. Suddenly, he whirled as part of the move, and found himself staring at a pretty redheaded agent.

And it wasn't Natasha Romanov.

April nearly screamed. She saw, preforming some kata, a half-human, half-turtle child. He wore a dark grey exercise shirt, and jean shorts, as well as an orange bandana/mask thingy. He stood there, kata now forgotten, staring at her. After a few more seconds of slack-jawed staring at each other, the turtle straightened.

"H-hi there." He stammered insecurely.

"Huh-Whuh-Fhuh?!" April managed to stammer out as well. Mikey then got his voice working enough to chuckle nervously.

"Hi." he said again, voice a bit more confident as he went on. "I'm Mikey. I'm also something my parents call a 'mutant turtle'." He said so quickly, April almost hadn't understood. In fact, as soon as his mouth had opened, she had sort of gone into shock. He...was...talking...to...her! She then smiled a little, not wanting to upset the little kid. Also, she crouched to his level.

"So...wha'cha doin'?" She asked, motioning toward the room, where he had been attempting to do basic katas. He shifted from foot to foot, suddenly very nervous.

"Well...I, ah, kinda was tryin' to do these katas, but..." He sniffled a little here, shifting more than ever. "I-I just can't seem to get them right." He said, in a voice that was meant to be strong, but was cracking fairly heavily. April's heart melted right then and there. She reached out, and rubbed his arm comfortingly.

"Hey, now...it's alright. Ah..." She bit her lip, trying to think of something, ANYTHING, to put a smile on his face. That was the one thing that April was close to hating about herself; this thing about comforting other people was something that wasn't becoming of a specialist. "Here, how about you could...tell me which kata you were doing, and...I'll help you with it." She said, in a voice that clearly was being forced to sound upbeat, and it sort of did. Well, it was enough to get that awful, and uncharacteristic, frown off his face. It simply doesn't look like it belonged on his baby-ish freckled face. He instantly felt better, and most of the sadness he felt vanished. He looked up at her with happier eyes and smiled warmly at the young woman.

"Yeah! That would be great!" He chirped. The pair went into the training room, in a different state of mind than they had originally come in with. April did, indeed, help the little turtle child with his katas.

A.N: And here is the other important character that I stupidly forgot until now. Takes place later that same day as the Raph scene above.

Raphael was walking home one second, and then the other second, he was hit, hard, on the shoulder. He spun and fell to the ground, but was up in a second. He thanked his training for the millionth time as the fist powered very quickly, and very powerfully very near his face. He caught the sloppy punch quite easily in his own fist, stopping it seconds from his face.

"Hey! What is your problem?!" Raph hissed, and looked at his attacker for the first time. He was a teenage boy, dressed in a dirty Gi, and a very smug expression. It was one of the many kids he had beaten earlier that day. A Brown Belt, by the looks of it.

Anyway, back to the matter of the fist at his face.

"Nothin'. Just seein' if ya are more than jes' good in thah Dojo." The kid hissed. Then, Raph felt hands grab him from behind, pulling him back into the alley. Then, more hands, slapping him, punching him, beating him. Raph couldn't even cry out, he was in so much pain. They had gotten a few good punches in on his plastron, and thus, his abdomen. He tried to fight back, tried to stop the awful hits, but found that his arms were gripped fast by strong hands, hands that didn't want to let his go, no matter how much he struggled.

"He-ah! Ugh!" He groaned, having tried to cry out for help, to let someone else know what was happening, but another two punches-one to the gut, and one to the side-silenced him as the beating continued. Once, when the mass of bodies moved to the side a little, he caught a glimpse of a kid in raggedy cloths, and wearing a bandana on his head, one that was black and white, holding back his untidy hair. The more he looked at the boy, the more he got the feeling that this kid was homeless.

He was also being beaten, probably because he had been passing by, wrong time, wrong place.

That set off something, something deep within him. A burning need to fight, to get both of them away from here. He let an almost feral growl rip from his throat, and ripped his arms out of the grip. He started punching all and sundry, and before he knew it, there was a gentle, yet very strong grip on his shoulders. It was his father. All the kids backed up slightly. Raph looked sheepishly at the furious eyes of his father.

Eyes...that had a tint of green.

"GET...AWAY...FROM...MY...SON! NOW!" Bruce roared, dangerously close to the Hulk's voice. Raph's eyes widened. He gripped his dad's shoulders.

"Dad! It's okay! Please! Calm down! I'm fine, really! DAD!" Raph cried, almost literally, but it seemed to work. The green slowly left Bruce's eyes. Bruce straightened.

"Sorry, Raphie. I just..." It was Bruce's turn to look sheepishly at the ground. Raph sagged against his dad's strong chest, exhausted now that the adrenaline had worn off.

"I know, dad. I know." Was all Raph could say before he let his eyes close, giving in to the darkness creeping across his vision.

"Raph! No!" Bruce cried, holding his son's limp form. He looked up as the one kid who hadn't run-the one in raggedy cloths-ran up and knelt by the father and son.

"Is-is he gonna..." He trailed off. Bruce sighed when he felt a strong, steady pulse beneath his hand, which was gently squeezing his son's neck.

"He'll be fine, kid. What happened?" He asked, looking worriedly at the multiple bruises, and awkward looking joints that the two boys had. The kid's eyes visibly hardened as he brought up the memories of the beat-down he had just received.

"Some of the older kids felt jealous that Raph kept beating them up, so they decided to play dirty, and ambushed us on the way home. I was passing by at the wrong time, and got grabbed, too." He said, wiping at a bloody nose, and a torn lip. "Then, you know the rest." He finished, shifting from foot to foot, as if each was causing him pain, and he didn't want to spend more time than necessary on either of his feet. Bruce glanced between his son, and the odd young man standing there, before sighing.

"Come on, kid. Let's get you all patched up." He said, and started inside, clutching his son to his chest. The boy followed after a few seconds.

Raph was laid out on the couch, and the boy watched over him as Bruce ran and got the first-aid kit. Raph's eyes slowly fluttered, than opened.

"Hey, man. You look like Death, warmed over." Casey said, earning a chuckle from Raphael, that quickly dissolved into a coughing fit.

"Whoa. Take it easy, dude. Those Brown Belts worked us over really good. Just...lay back, okay?" Raph eyes lit in recognition, and he sat up, ignoring the hands that tried to get him back down.

"Where's my dad?" Raph asked, slumping back onto the couch, too tired still to move. Too tired, and in too much pain.

"Gettin' the first-aid kit." The boy said, still holding his arm against Raph's chest, in case he tried anything. Raph did his best to nod without hurting himself, but ended up wincing painfully when he did. Then, Raph's dad came in, and treated Raphael first. The young man didn't complain; Raph obviously needed it more than he did. Suddenly, Bruce turned to him, eyes apologetic.

"Um, sorry about this, but I'll have to take Raph's tops off. Okay?" The boy raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, that's fine, sir." He said, subconsciously taking a step nearer to the couch, curiosity shining in his eyes. Bruce tenderly inched the thin shirt off after Raph had managed to get the hoodie off. The boy gasped. Raphael had some kinda breastplate, attached to...a shell on his back!

"Dude...you're a...turtle?!" He nearly screamed out.

"I did warn you, kid." Bruce said, smirk slicing his face slightly. Then, Raph looked at the boy, as if just now noticing him.

"Hey. What's your name? Never caught it..." He trailed off into yet another coughing fit.

"Name's Casey, actually. Casey Jones." He said, probably more to Raph than the other human in the room. Bruce nodded as he continued to wrap his wounds.

"Raph has told me a little about those kids. But not enough. Who are they?" Bruce asked, eyes never leaving the task at hand. Casey sighed heavily.

"They're students at the Dojo Raph and I go to. They're Brown Belts, and they think that means they can just beat whomever they want, whenever they want, without opposition. When Raph kept beating them, time after time, I guess they wanted to settle the score. Stupid punks! Dey should be kicked outa school!" Casey growled at the end, fists clenched at his sides, shaking with bottled rage that desperately wanted to get out. But he couldn't let it out. Not yet. Then, Bruce was done tending to his son, and now turned to Casey.

"Now, let's see about those wounds, Casey." He said gently, grabbing his arm and dragging him over to the table, where he was sat and tended to with a very careful and experienced touch.

"You a doctor or somethin' Mr. Banner?"

"Not exactly." Bruce said with a chuckle. "I do know a bit about healing and medicine, but I'm not an official doctor." He further explained-again-eyes never leaving his task as he worked. Casey didn't feel hardly any pain as he was tended to. It was over quickly, and then, he was on his way, back to the alley he lived in. He had set up shop, so to speak, in an abandoned dumpster that apparently no one knew was even there. No body came to try to dump it, so Casey had moved in there. From then on, however, Casey always went home at the same time as Raph, as a sort of unofficial body guard. Raph never minded, and the two became fast friends.

A.N: AANNDD...there ya have it! Now, I am not even going to try to tell you how many more set-up chapters there will be, because every time I do, I wind up adding yet another thing I wanna post.


	7. B-days, Tell him? and a quick ending

**AND HERE IT IS! THE NEXT CHAPPIE! AGAIN, HUGE THANKS TO ANYONE WHO HAS READ AND REVIEWED THIS STORY. IT MEANS A LOT. ANYWAY, I HAVE OFFICIALLY GIVEN UP ON TRYING TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS THE FINAL SET-UP CHAPTER. **

**~LEOFAN221**

Tony Stark was working on his 'hobby'. Again. Meaning, he was updating his armor. Again. He was always making new armor, and this was the new Mark VII (7). Pepper might've had her own remarks on the different styles and amount of Iron Man armor he created, but he kept on needing to foolproof everything.  
Gosh, science was amazing.

You should just ask Donnie. He can tell you all about how 'cool' science is to him, and all that. Tony stepped back to review his work, nodding in satisfaction before diving in again.  
The new Mark VII should be able to deploy at any moment, as long as JARVIS was on the line, and align itself with some bracelets that Tony would wear on his wrists, thus safely encasing him in the armor he knew so well. It would even work if he jumped off a building…! But he didn't know that yet, so he wasn't willing to try.  
Then, his lab doors hissed open, and in came Pepper Potts. She had that look on her face, but Tony didn't notice it yet, as he was still working on his suit design.  
"Tony," Pepper said seriously, walking up to him. "Do you know what day it is?"  
"Nope," Stark replied simply. He frowned a little at his hologram, and tossed away an unwanted part of the design. "What day is it?"  
Pepper promptly swept aside the holograms so Tony could see her. Now he saw the look. "It's something important, isn't it?"  
Pepper raised an eyebrow. "It's Donnie's birthday… Tony."  
Tony snapped his fingers. "I knew it. I totally had something planned for today."  
"No, you didn't."  
"Yes, in fact, I did."  
"I don't think you did."  
"You don't know that."  
Suddenly, something exploded. Pepper jumped, but Tony went right back to his work as if nothing had happened. Their son practically fell out of a far room, coughing, smoke pouring from said room.  
"Wow! Sorry, dad! Still trying to work out the kinks!" Donnie wiped his eyes, which were watering a little. "Oh, hi mom."  
Tony turned and spread his arms. "Happy birthday, bud." Dummy robot shot a mini confetti gun.  
Donnie was in the process of taking off the lab coat he was wearing, and blinked at the confetti. Then, his eyes sparked as he remembered. "Oh, yeah! I'm fifteen!" He stood up, patting Dummy, who whined with happiness, and shot the confetti gun again.  
Pepper walked over, and enveloped Donatello in a hug. "Happy birthday, Donnie."  
Donnie returned the hug. "Thanks, mom."  
"Now, what exactly are you working on in there?" Pepper walked towards the now not smoking room.  
Donnie stiffened a little, and sent his father a frantic look that was clearly calling for help. "Nothing you'd be interested in," Tony said.  
"Nothing much, mom, really!"  
Pepper raised an eyebrow, and opened the door. Response was instantaneous. "Tony, I thought you said that you two had given up on Donnie's armor project!"  
Tony raised a finger. "I never actually said that. Besides, Donnie said he could work on it by himself now, anyway."  
"And it's not armor, mom," Donnie said in a low voice. His mother hardly ever got angry, but she could get ticked off good. "It's a droid."  
"It's three feet tall, Pepper. Just another lab assistant," Tony said carelessly from behind his holograms. "It's completely harmless."  
"And where have I heard that before?" Pepper looked Donatello's project up and down. "A lab assistant with weapons?"  
Donnie walked over and tried to replace the weapons that were coming from the three foot tall robot turtle. "It's just something I decided to try, mom." He gave Pepper the wide auburn eyes.  
Pepper sighed. "Well, just because it's your birthday, I'll let this pass," she said with a smile, stroking her son's head. Then, she had a mock stern look on her face, pointing between him and Tony. "But don't think I won't talk to you boys about this."  
Donnie smiled a little, looking sheepish, while Tony waved carelessly. "Donnie," Tony said. "Go upstairs and clean yourself up. Then we'll celebrate."  
"Ok, dad." Donnie was instantly running up the stairs out of the lab.  
Pepper walked over to Tony, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He responded by wrapping his arms around her waist. "For someone who complained so much about him messing with your stuff when he was little, I think you've grown to depend on him," she said teasingly.  
"He's a kid," Tony replied. "But pretty darn smart, I must say. Of course I've grown to depend on him! See, unlike my dad, I actually want to truly show care towards my son."  
Pepper knew that Tony knew that his father actually did care about him, he just didn't show it often (actually, he didn't show it at all). But Pepper also knew that Tony was still sore about the lack of attention he had been given as a kid. And his relationship with Donnie was just an attempt to make up for what Howard Stark hadn't done.  
"Well, I'm gonna go take a shower and then see if you actually have made plans for Donnie's birthday," said Pepper, kissing Tony on the cheek.  
"Speaking of plans, I've decided to take both of you to New York next week, to witness Stark Tower becoming the first self sustaining building in the world," Tony said, turning to fiddle with his Mark VII. He then turned and grasped Pepper by the shoulders. "Just think of it as his birthday present, and yours at the same time."  
Pepper smiled a little. "And I'm guessing that's making up for the fact that you have not made plans today?"  
"I keep telling you!" Tony called, as his girlfriend walked up the stairs out of the lab. "I've made plans!"  
"Of course you have!" Pepper called back, laughing. She knew her boyfriend better than that.

* * *

"Dad, are you alright?"

Steve blinked, looked at his son in surprise. "Why do you ask?"  
Leo's brow furrowed as he played with the wheels of his skateboard. Skateboarding and TV were two of Leonardo's truly real concepts of fun. Other concepts consisted of training and learning. Steve knew he was raising one rather weird kid, and not just in the mutant turtle sense.

I mean, the kid takes learning how to fight, and about everything else, as fun things to do.

"Well," Leo said slowly, shifting nervously from foot to foot. This wasn't easy for him, asking these kinda questions. He preferred to just sit back and watch as things played out. But this was something Leo NEEDED to discuss with his father, so-awkward or not-Leo had brought it up. "You've been spending a lot of nighttime at the gym lately. You kinda… Well, you kinda go to the gym when you're stressed or something."  
Steve laughed, shaking his head a little. He really had to hand it to Leo, he was observant. But he was right. As of late, Steve's memories from seventy years ago had been getting more intense, and he'd been getting less and less sleep too.  
Erskine. Hydra. Red Skull. Bucky. The team… Peggy.  
It was lucky that he actually gotten some sleep last night, though; today was his son's fifteenth birthday, and of course the day was going to be longer than last year. Every year, with every birthday, Leo had gotten more energetic, and thus the small family of father and son had spent more and more time carrying on Leo's birthday tradition.  
They were halfway to Coney Island at this point.  
"I'm fine, Leo," Steve assured, pulling the young mutant's hoodie over his eyes playfully.  
Leo shouted in protest, and lifted back up the hoodie, grinning. But then he frowned, looking thoughtful again. "You're bothered about the wars again, aren't you?" Leo shook himself slightly, as if admonishing himself for asking such a stupid question, and began talking rather fast. "I mean, you don't need to tell me anything, dad, but… Well, I can tell it's bothering you a lot."  
"Hey," said Steve, putting a hand on his surrogate son's shoulder. "It's fine. You can ask me anything right now."  
Leo smiled, placing his skateboard on the ground, keeping in pace with his father's slow walk. "What was it like?" he asked. "Being in the war, I mean."  
Steve dug his hands in his jacket pockets. "It was hard at times," he said truthfully. "But the best part was knowing that my buddies had my back…" He paused, flashing to Bucky. He'd always had his back. Steve just wished that he'd had his. "And knowing that we were doing something."  
Leo didn't speak for awhile. "It must've been cool," he said. "Being a hero."  
Steve looked at Leo, who seemed to blush a little. Steve then laughed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Yes, it was very… cool," he said. "But it's just as cool being your father."  
"Well, it's just as cool having a hero for a father," said Leo. He laughed, wrestling himself out of his father's grasp. He picked back up his skateboard, and father and son continued walking.  
Steve thought about what Leo had just said. Leo did have a hero for a father, but it wasn't Steve. The former soldier had promised himself that he would tell Leo the truth, but how could he do that? Leo hadn't been having his dreams for a very long time, and as far as Leo was concerned he was Steve's son. The kid knew that he was different. He'd learned that fairly soon. But to Steve's surprise, Leo didn't address this as odd.  
Steve had raised him, trained him, cared for him, and that seemed enough for Leonardo. But that didn't make telling Leo the full truth about his past any easier.  
"We're almost there," Leo said suddenly, snapping Steve out of his thoughts.  
The former captain saw the extravagance of Coney Island just up ahead. "Do you want a race?" Steve said playfully. He might as well have said, do you want to train, and Leo probably wouldn't have minded, but Leo nodded. "Think you can beat me this time?" Steve challenged.  
Leo shrugged, but his face showed a bit of doubt.  
"Hey," said Steve. "You're confident about most else, show a bit of confidence about this. Besides… there's always, always a chance for everything." Steve knew… He should know.  
Leo nodded, clutching his skateboard to his side as he got ready.  
"Hey," Steve said again, and Leo looked at him again. "Happy birthday, Leo."  
"Thanks, dad."

* * *

Leo inwardly sighed, rushing along beside his dad. Of course, Leo was slipping just a little bit behind, but Leo couldn't have cared less.

He HAD been having nightmares, about that strange rat, more vivid than ever.

He had just gotten better at keeping that to himself, and not waking his father.

* * *

April woke up at 5:30, as usual, this time wanting to meet up with Mikey, to work on his katas before Nat got to him. Quickly, she reviewed the quick conversation she had had with her older sister.

Yep, Natasha was April O'Neill's big sister. She had just been adopted by another family, hence the different last names.

_Natasha pulled April aside, as Mikey went on trying to get the kata to a point where he could do it right. _

_"April. what are you doing?!" Natasha yell-whispered. April scowled. _

_It was never easy, seeing her sister. Ever. They had...a kinda tension between them. April could tell that Natasha was simply jealous that April had gotten this life. _

_One in which she wasn't forced to train as a warrior. As a deadly assassin, given no choice in the matter. April had done everything in her power to make sure Natasha had no reason to be jealous, but it wasn't working, it seemed. April sighed, and turned to her new acquaintance, Michelangelo.  
_

_"So...who's the cutie?" She asked in a purposefully cheerful voice. _

_"Oh. Mikey. He's my...son." Natasha said. April scoffed. _

_"So...you and Clint-" She was cut off by Natasha's hand on her mouth. It released after a few more moments. _

_"HECK. NO! I adopted him when his father was killed." Natasha growled, too low for Mikey to hear. April slumped, sudden sadness weighing her shoulders down. _

_"Oh. Sorry to hear that. At least he's got you." She commented._

_"And Clint. We like to think of it as a team up." Natasha snapped quickly, cheeks turning ever so slightly red. April's mouth moved upward in the barest hint of a smile. _

_"Sure. I bet it's one HECKUVA team up." April said, smirk never leaving her face. Natasha's fists clenched. _

_"It-IT's not what you think!" She called, but April was already heading over to Mikey's side._

_"Of COURSE it isn't!" April called over her shoulder, with obvious sarcasm. Natasha nearly screamed in extreme frustration. but was soon joining both of her family members in performing the katas. _

* * *

A.N: I know. CRAPPY ending, but I wanted to see how this would work.

Sorry, y'all.

Leofan221, over and out.

Till next time!


	8. Birthday announcement, Boredom, FIRED!

**OKAY! SO...**

**TO LOSTSOLDIERS636, AND EVERYONE ELSE, IN FACT. **

**THIS IS THE 2012 VERSION, AND THEY _WILL _MEET IN THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS. **

**THIS IS THE LAST SET-UP CHAPTER, THEN IT'LL START WORKING THROUGH THE MOVIE. THE FIRST ONE, NOT AGE OF ULTRON. THAT WOULD TAKE FOR-FREAKING-EVER, AND I DON'T LIKE MAKING PEOPLE WAIT THAT LONG! ;)**

**OH, AND I KNOW I JUST REPLIED TO YOUR REVIEW, BUT I FELT THE NEED TO WRITE THIS FOR ANYONE WHO IS STILL SOMEHOW CONFUSED. **

**BTW, THE RAPH SCENE IN HARDYGAL'S AND THE MIKEY SCENE IS MINE. **

**~LEOFAN221**

Bruce Banner wasn't a very extravagant guy. He didn't like being all showy or over the top. Also, he preferred not to be noticed. There was a possibility that perhaps one out of twenty people would recognize him for who… what he was.

Fortunately, his son wasn't the type to need a big birthday party to be happy. All he needed was his best friend and his father and a late night, and Raphael would look as though he was having the best day of his life.

Bruce knew he could only allow that feeling to drag on for so long before he had to break the news. That wasn't gonna be pretty…

Today had been a good day for Raph. Today had been his fifteenth birthday. It was sort of a midpoint for teenagers, also just below the sweet sixteen, so it was a pretty big age. Casey had come over.

Casey was a pretty good kid in Bruce's opinion. Now a young man, Casey Jones still remained Raph's best friend since that day all those years ago, though he didn't really need to act as a bodyguard. Though Raph didn't have much in height even as a teenager, he was still a pretty formidable opponent in class, and only the arrogant, stupid, or _extremely_ ticked off people were dumb enough to attack him.

Bruce had given Raph a gift he had picked up at great pains. It was so hard to find good weapons. Of course Bruce was still berating himself for being irresponsible enough to give a headstrong teenager weapons for his birthday, but Raph was still over the top happy about it.

Twin sai. Real, metal, sai. No, Bruce was never gonna regret this at some point. But he decided to think of it as a peace offering in exchange for what he was going to have to tell the kid.

It was very late now, and Casey and Raph had fallen asleep on the couch, not even finishing their X-Men movie marathon. Bruce sighed, and smirked a little, turning down the volume to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, cleaning up what remained of Raph's birthday meal.

"Hey, dad…" Bruce spun around, and saw Raph's eyes were open slightly.

"Hey, Raph," Bruce replied. He dumped the dishes in the kitchen. Raph grunted as he sat up on the couch, and turned to look at his father. "Um… Raph…?" Bruce said tentatively.

"Mm-hm?" the teenager responded sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

Bruce muttered underneath his breath. "Yeah, Raph…"

"Yes?"

Wow, this was going to be quite the announcement. And on his birthday too. Raph seemed to have settled comfortably in Richmond after all these years, and who could blame him? They had stayed here longer than any other place before. Much longer. Raph had made friends.

Ok, _a_ friend, but it all lead up to the same thing: Raph liked it here, and telling him they had to leave was not going to be pretty.

"Raph…"

Raph gave his dad an odd look. "Yes… dad…?" he said, now wary.

Bruce let out a short cough. "Raph, we're moving to Calcutta."

Raph stiffened, and stared at Bruce incredulously. "What?"

"I've made all the arrangements very early, and we will in fact need to leave tomorrow," Bruce said, with what he hoped sounded final.

"But, dad…?"

"Raph, I know that you aren't happy…"

"Not happy? Dad-" Raph cut off. "Dad, why…? We were doing so good here! And for the first time I actually liked it here!"

"Raph, keep your voice down," Bruce said calmingly, glancing at Casey sleeping on the couch.

"No, dad!" Raph snapped. "It's not fair! Oh, I know the whole life isn't fair thing, but I don't care! It's still not fair!"

Bruce clutched his head. "Raph, calm down."

"Is it because of your research thing?" said Raph. "Why can't you just do it here, at home?"

"Raph, it is not because of my research! It isn't because of _me_!" Bruce snapped. He could already feel his control slipping just a little, and that was the last thing he wanted just now, especially in front of his kid.

Raph stepped away, glancing at the ground. Bruce instantly berated himself, and stepped forward. "Ok, so it is kind of because of me," he said slowly. "I nearly lost it, kid. I didn't, but I nearly did. Enough to know that no one is gonna want me around here for much longer."

Bruce grasped his son by the shoulders. Gosh, he wanted so badly for Raph to know the main reason for their moving all the time. It wasn't because of the research, or even because of the other guy. Okay, partly because of the other guy; Bruce was afraid that one day SHIELD would want to take him out, or even worse, some obscure facility would want to take him in.

They wouldn't be able to, this Bruce knew well enough, but…

Raph was insecure about the whole thing as it was, and Bruce wasn't sure what would happen to the kid if that happened. And not even just because of that; if certain interested parties became aware of Bruce Banner, and his research, and his… condition, they might become aware of Raph.

Bruce had promised Fury he would keep the kid secret, when it was hard enough keeping _himself_ secret. But the point was, it was all for Raph. Bruce didn't want this mysterious enemy of Raphael's real father finding out about him.

Which just made trying to make Raph understand a whole lot harder.

"I'm sorry, Raph," Bruce said in a low voice. "You have to understand that I'm trying to keep you safe."

Raph was staring at the ground, but he nodded. "I know," he muttered.

Bruce sighed. "Oh, Raph, I'm really sorry, kid."

"I know."

"C'mere…" Bruce knew that Raph wasn't the huggy type, but he didn't really know how else the comfort him. Raph stepped forward and allowed his dad to wrap him in a hug.

Bruce was glad that Raph seemed to have - albeit grudgingly - accepted that they were leaving, and didn't ask why they had to go OVERSEAS. Bruce's reason, they were pretty far from the usual radar, and at the very least he could help the less fortunate people out there. Perhaps the work would distract him from… the other guy.

"Better go pack up," Bruce said, pulling back from the hug, trying to sound like the argument hadn't been an argument. "We leave tomorrow afternoon."

Raph nodded, and walked towards his room slowly. Dang it, just the walk made Bruce feel very, very guilty.

* * *

Mikey had never been this excited as he walked down the halls, breathless but excited none the less.

Well, only when he had started training with his actual Aunt, April, and his mom, all those years ago had he even come close to being this excited.

And when he FINALLY turned thirteen, earning the title of teenager, he had been awarded S.H.I.E.L.D standard issue fighting knives, as well as a black outfit to wear when he was wandering around the base, so he seemed at least a little less conspicuous.

Today is the day. Finally, it was happening!

His father, Clint Barton, had finally gotten Mikey's mother to let him help Clint guard-er, watch over-yet another one of the mysterious operations taking place throughout the base.

This time, it was some guy named Dr. Selvig, coming in to test something called the Tessaract.

"Now, Mikey. This is important. No. Touching. Anything. You're there to watch, observe, and report anything suspicious to your father. Alright?" Natasha had said as she fretted over her son, and his black agent suit, making sure it covered as much as it could of his skin, just in case...

"Yes, Ma'am." Mikey had replied with a smirk, standing ramrod straight. Natasha had laughed, and sent him on his way, with a kiss on the forehead, for luck she told herself.

Who knew what would happen?

She watched her only child jog down the hallways for a moment, before walking to Fury's office to receive her next assignment.

* * *

Now, Mikey was bored. Sure, his dad was chatting with him, trying to make watching scientists as interesting as possible, but it didn't do much good.

Neither male was very adept at science.

It was just another day of the men pressing some random buttons, then watching the cube in the center of the room start glowing blue, before the light faded away again.

Mikey didn't know what had excited him those first few days.

Really, he didn't know what was supposedly so exciting about watching boring people doing boring things to a cube that glows blue.

Oh, well.

It had been three days since he had first been allowed to help Clint Barton watch over this large room from a platform high above the people and machines below. Clint had told Mikey that he saw everything better from up high.

"Like a true hawk, dad!" Mikey said, jokingly excited, laughter in his eyes and voice.

"How else do you think I got the nickname Hawkeye?"

"Dunno, but it might have something to do with your archery skills, as well as your far-sightedness."

"Oh! The sarcasm! It burns so bad!"

The joking would have gone on longer, had the warning rings of an alarm not gone off, igniting a panic among the scientists. Clint hurriedly checked for any suspicious characters, but obviously found none. Then, he checked for odd messages, emails, IMs, anything out of the ordinary, but found nothing. Frustrated, Clint called Coulson and gave a report. He was told to wait for Director Fury to appear, and do what he said.

This would have been actually exciting and fun, if there wasn't a possibility of death involved. But, seeing as the scientists were now just trying to contain the spiking energy signature, and none of them had exploded yet, Clint and Mikey were admittedly a little less worried. The pair checked again for anything out of the ordinary that had just now popped up, but again came up empty handed.

"Wait...that thing is supposed to be a doorway into space, right Mikey?" Clint asked, turning to his surrogate son.

"You know more about that thing than I do, dad."

"Well then, what if we're checking the wrong side of the doorway?" Clint Barton continued, as if Mikey hadn't said anything.

"So... if what you're saying is true...what do we do now?"

"We havta wait till Fury gets here, then play by ear." Clint said, sitting back down, but keeping an eye over the proceedings with-pardon the pun-a hawk's eye.

* * *

Bishop, as always, was extra cautious as he entered the throne room. It was never a good thing when he was called here on such short notice. Or so he was told by the lackies he worked with. He was even more nervous because he didn't have a file ready to present to his 'master'. He entered, bowing in respect as he always did.

"Saki, sir? It isn't-"

"I am aware that it isn't your usual time to report!"

"Apologies, master."

"Enough! You are relieved of duty!" Bishop blinked, for a moment unsure if he had heard Saki correctly. "You have, time and again, proven that the vile Hamato clan have surely been disseminated. Now I have no further use for your talents. You are dismissed. You are allowed to come back and gather your things either in the morning, or now. Just make sure that you have left by tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Saki." Bishop barely stuttered out. What was he going to do now? Seek out another evil guy with a vendetta against an entire ninja clan? Somehow, he doubted that he would get this same position with anyone else. Saki was through with him. Now, it was up to him to get another job, with another employer, preferably out of this city. He now knew far too much of it's dirty little secrets. He couldn't live here much longer.

He closed his front door, slumped down on the couch, and sighed. He was about to pick up the newspaper to read the job advertisements, when his cell rang. He picked up a little fearfully, wondering if Saki had changed his mind.

"John Bishop?" A male, young sounding voice asked, like he already knew his name and number, and was asking out of formality.

"This is he. How can I be of service?" The man asked, now more curious than cautious.

"I have a job opportunity for you. You'll be in a lab, working with many other scientists. If you're interested, meet me at the Biraly building tomorrow evening. Bring your equipment." Then, the call ended. Bishop surged forward, now with a definite goal in mind.

**I KNOW!**

**AGAIN WITH THE CRAPPIE ENDINGS! I'M SORRY, OKAY?! **

**ANYWAY...HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT, AND ALL THAT...**

**OH, AND SOMEONE DEAR TO MY HEART WILL APPEAR JUST BRIEFLY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OR TWO. LIKE, REALLY QUICK, THEN GONE, SO STAY TUNED, IF YOU PLEASE!**

**~LF221**


	9. Assembling AI 1

**SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT, GUYS. LIFE CALLED AND GOT IN THE WAY. ANYWAY...SINCE WE HAVEN'T CHECKED IN ON THE OTHER TURTLES FOR AWHILE, MIKEY WILL BE NEXT CHAPTER, PROMISE. ANYWAY...**

**LIVE LONG AND LOVE TMNT!**

**~LF221**

Leo could always tell when his dad woke up at night. Somehow, he just knew. It was the way the silence suddenly seemed frightening, especially around Steve's bedroom door. Leo knew all about what his surrogate father had gone through, back in WWII. With Hydra, the Tesseract, and the Red Skull. Leo also knew that his father was keeping the frequency of these hell-ish nightmares from him. But that was okay. Leo was hiding the content, as well as the frequency of his own nightmares from his dad. He hated doing it, but didn't want his father worrying about him. He heard Steve moving around his room, getting dressed, no doubt. Leo yawned, stretched quickly, grabbed a shirt to pull on over top of his plastron, and went out.

Steve seemed surprised that his son had heard him. He hadn't heard Leo until he was standing in the doorway to his room, leaning against it.

"Bad dreams?" Leo asked, although he knew the answer. Asking was just a formality. Steve nodded, and continued packing his hand wrappings, as well as extra cloths that Leo would have only seen him in in the morning, had Leo not woken up.

"Sorry for waking you up, bud." Steve apologized. Leo shrugged, fighting back a yawn. The pair moved out to the garage, taking the bike to the gym Steve always went to to work this kinda stuff out. The owner understood, and left the key out, with the promise that Steve not stay for incredibly long. Steve made sure he never did.

Now, Steve attacked a punching bag with such fury, Leo knew that this particular nightmare had been extra disturbing. Eventually, Steve had broken both the chain, and the bag itself, which was now against the wall, leaking sand. Steve panted heavily, grabbed another bag, and hoisted it up onto the hook before taking a deep breath, and starting the attack again. Leo sighed as he did katas along the sparing mat to pass the time. That was the third bag tonight. It must've been one _shell _of a nightmare to get Steve _this _riled up. Almost as soon as Steve had resumed punching, a new voice spoke up, startling Leo badly, causing him to trip up on his own legs.

"Trouble sleeping?" Leo took a deep breath as he picked himself up off the floor. He knew that voice. It was Uncle Fury. Leo straightened up subconsciously, like every other time he had seen his surrogate uncle. Steve merely glanced at the man before turning back to the bag.

"Slept for seventy years once, sir. I think I've had my fill." He said, accenting the last word with a punch. Leo nodded to Fury as he walked over, and took a few steps back to avoid being in Uncle Fury's way.

"Then you should be out, celebrating. Seeing the world." Fury continued. Steve stopped punching, sweat pouring off his face and arms. He gave Fury a look.

"You know why I can't." he muttered, hoping that Leo couldn't hear. "You know...when I went under, we were at war." He asked in a louder voice, by way of changing the subject. "I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost." Leo grimaced. His dad was always sensitive to the way the world changed in his absence. He walked over and put a comforting hand on his father's sweaty, hot shoulder, trying not to gag. Fury smirked for a second, then resumed his normal, expressionless face.

"We've made some mistakes along the way." Fury admitted, pulling a folder out of his coat. "Some very recently." Leo frowned. What did _that..._oh, no. Leo groaned. Why else would Fury come see Steve this late at night? Steve looked at the folder curiously for a second before starting to unwrap his hands. Undoubtedly curious as to what the file contained.

"Are you here with a mission, sir?" Steve asked casually, not looking up as he continued unwinding the fabric around his hand.

"I am." Fury replied crisply.

"Tryin' to get me back in the world?" Steve asked, again not looking up. Leo sighed. Why did Fury have to ruin the good mood Leo had been working to get his dad back into with this assignment? They always came at the wrong time...it was unfair.

"Trying to save it." Fury replied, holding the folder out. Leo sucked his breath in sharply. There, on the open first page was a picture of a glowing cube that only be the Tesseract. Leo looked over at his dad concern evident on his face and in his eyes. Steve calmly took the file, not showing any reaction he must have been experiencing. Steve moved his eyes quickly over the pages, skimming over the information he had known a long time ago...and was trying to forget. He sat down on the bench he had put his bag on.

"HYDRA's secret weapon." Steve muttered. Leo's hand returned to his father's shoulder. He shouldn't have to be dragged back into this. He didn't deserve this after all he had done for this country...

"Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you." Fury reported, earning a half angry, half inquisitive glare from Steve, and a plain irritated one from Leo.

"He thought what we think: The Tesseract could be the key to unlimited, sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs." Fury continued.

"Really?" Leo asked. He still didn't get what Fury was doing here, and how the Tesseract played into it. Steve seemed to get it instantly. He held the file out, already knowing all the info inside.

"Who took it from you?" He asked, then patted Leo's hand to let his son know that he registered Leo's concern. Fury grimaced for a second.

"He's called Loki. He's...not from around here." Fury said, hinting at something. Leo let out a small gasp of recognition. He had remembered the Norse history lessons from a long time ago, and Loki's name stood out. Steve looked confused as to how this was possible. Loki was a Norse god, after all...a character in a book. "There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on, if you're in." Fury said. Leo was a little stunned, to be honest. He hadn't expected the luxury of a choice from Fury. It was...nice to see that Fury wasn't _totally_ insensitive, a popular opinion of Leo's at this time.

"The world has gotten even stranger than you already know." Fury added. Leo shivered. Something about that sentence just...wasn't right. Steve glanced back at Leo, a small smirk playing on his face. Leo was happy to see it back on his dad's face.

"At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me." Steve said wryly. Leo grinned, and playfully smacked his dad's arm as he stood and grabbed his bag.

"Ten bucks says you're wrong." Fury said with a perfectly straight face as Steve leaned down and grabbed a punching bag. Leo laughed out loud for a second before reducing it to a chuckle and trying to help his dad. Steve stubbornly refused, however, giving Leo a look when he tried to grab Steve's bag from him.

"There's a debriefing packet waiting for you two back at your apartment." Fury said, as the father and son walked out.

"Of course there is." Leo muttered, hoping no one else could hear.

"When isn't there?" Steve whispered back, making Leo blush. Apparently, Steve had been close enough to hear. They both smiled as they continued walking out of the gym.

"Is there anything about the Tesseract that we ought to know _now_?'" Fury asked Steve, who rolled his eyes quickly.

"You should have left it in the ocean." He said simply as he stepped out the door.

"Really, dad. Let me carry something." Leo chuckled, eager to help. Steve returned the chuckle.

"Nope. I got this. Thanks, though. Head to the bike." He said, dropping the punching bag he had been carrying off in the storage closet along with the others that were in there.

"And Rogers," Fury called. He had a certain tone of voice that made Steve stop dead.

The soldier looked down at the young mutant next to him. "Go back to the bike, Leo," he said, patting his carapace. Leo looked at him uncertainly. "Now."

Nodding, the blue eyed turtle ran out of the gym. Steve turned back to Fury, walking towards him. "He still doesn't know the truth, Fury," Steve muttered. "That's why I don't want him in the field. He'll see Michelangelo and freak out. And also, who the heck is gonna take care of him while I'm doing this?"

Fury looked at him calmly. "Don't worry, I'll have one of my best agents ready to keep an eye on them, if that's what-"

"Them?" Steve said, a little sharp, cutting Fury off. "You're bringing in the others?"

"How many actually depends on the circumstances," Fury replied with a shrug. "But the fact still remains. Leo's brother are coming, so I'd advise that you tell the kid the truth sooner than later."

"I suppose I can't exactly expect truth advice from the director of an agency," Steve muttered. Fury smirked in response.

"Guess not."

=#=#=#=

Sure enough, there _was _a debriefing packet awaiting the father and son, sitting on the kitchen counter.

"Ice Cream while we look at it?" Leo asked, already en route to the freezer.

"Yeah...sounds great." Steve replied distractedly, already opening it. Inside was a flat, glass screen, and a packet of notes. Lots of notes. Leo scooped quickly, and then walked over to sit next to his father, sliding Steve's bowl over to him. Steve smiled, catching it without even looking at it.

Turkey Hill's Double Dunker. Leo knew him far too well. Leo and Steve laughed when Steve expressed this out loud. Then, they got down to business. The fiddled with the glass screen for a few moments before realizing that it was an actual screen, displaying the S.H.I.E.L.D symbol proudly on the front. Then, a sound startled Steve and Leo out of their seats. They looked around in slight alarm and panic

before realizing that it was an incoming call from Steve's cellphone. Steve picked it up.

"Hello, Steve Rogers speaking." Steve asked crisply, already thinking through who it could be with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"_Good Evening, Captain." _Came Coulson's voice on the other line. Steve's eyes widened as Coulson continued. _"We need you at HQ. Stat. And bring Leonardo. You could be there for a while." _Then, Steve's face morphed to one of shock and slight indignation. Fury had told him to bring Leo, but apparently Coulson didn't know about the conversation between Fury and Steve. So he tested Coulson's knowledge. Or maybe just to make sure that this was really happening.

"Really?! You remember my request about you-know-what, Coulson! And besides...It's 2:30 in the morning! What could be so hell-fire important that you need to call _right now?_!" Leo was left to simply stare at his dad, confusion exaggerated grossly to get his point across; he didn't know what on earth his dad was talking about, only being able to hear half of the conversation.

"_The potential end of the world. We think you could help make sure that doesn't happen. Meet me at the nearest airport." _And with that, the call was ended, leaving a very annoyed and slightly infuriated Steve, and an even more confused Leonardo.

"Dad? What's going on?" He asked softly, head tilted to further the picture of confusion. Steve sighed. He had specifically asked that Leo not be involved in his assignments. So, it must one _heck _of an important mission for them to ask him to bring Leonardo along with him.

"We gotta go, Leo." He said simply, shoulders slumped in defeat. Leo looked more confused than ever.

"What?"

"I mean, they need us both, for something." Then, the one thought Steve wished Leo wouldn't think, but knew deep down would be voiced was asked.

"Why haven't I gone with you before now?" He asked slowly, as if he had already thought through the answer, but wanted to hear it come from his dad. Steve took a deep breath.

"Because...I underestimated your fighting skills, and asked that you not be put out in the field 'till later." He said, eyes squeezed shut, as if to block out the shocked, blinking and mute Leonardo's face. Then, Leo spoke, voice barely above a whisper.

"It's okay, dad." He took a deep breath here, which only made Steve feel more guilty for not telling Leo about it before now, among other things he already felt guilty about for hiding from his son, even for this long...for fifteen years. Fury's piece of advice played through his mind, as if trying to get Steve to just bite the bullet, and tell Leo right now...but he just couldn't. Not yet. "I understand. You had to protect me the only way you knew." Leo had a slightly slumped posture and closed eyes, either from the exhaustion of waking up at 1:00 in the morning, and getting in a bit more extra practice on his katas, or from feeling saddened by his father's revelation. Steve took a deep breath, having a sinking feeling he knew which one it was.

"Let's, uh, get some stuff together, and meet back at the bike to go meet Uncle Coulson. Okay?" Leo bit back a sigh, and nodded, shuffling off to pack his few sets of cloths, as well as his toothbrush and toothpaste.

The actual ride _to _the landing pad was spent in awkward silence and secret thoughts on the part of both father and son. Leo was still figuring out his emotions concerning his father's lack of faith in Leo's fighting abilities.

One thing he felt was anger; it seemed so unfair. After all, Leo had been working so hard to prove to Steve that he was a capable warrior. And now...he found out that Steve had specifically asked that he not be put in the field. His dad...didn't think that he could handle it.

Another thing he felt was sadness; had he not proven himself in training and school? Was the reason for Steve's request simply because he didn't feel that Leo was capable enough to handle being in the field? On the other hand, Steve was trying to figure out his son's reaction. He felt guilt and shame for his actions. He had basically just said that Leo hadn't proven himself worthy of accompanying him out into the field. He had essentially crushed Leo's dreams of fighting for good alongside him. And the worst part was that Leo was trying to make it seem like no problem. He was only putting on a brave face for his father, which only served to make Steve more guilty. Both were so lost in their private thoughts, that they hardly noticed that they had arrived. In fact, Leo had to be physically shaken out of his thoughts, only to find Coulson's smiling face staring back at him. Leo blushed.

"Kon'nichiwa, Oji-san!" He chirped with false cheer, using the language he had always known somehow.

"Kon'nichiwa, Oi." Coulson said, using the language Leo occasionally used. Leo laughed as he grabbed his small bag. Uncle Coulson always knew just how to make things better. Within five minutes, the strange plane Coulson had emerged from was back in the air, heading toward whatever 'HQ' was. Of course, Leo knew exactly what HQ stood for, but he had never known precisely what his dad did for 'Uncle' Fury. Guess now he was gonna find out. Steve and Leo took advantage of the long-ish flight to catch up a little on sleep. When they woke, it was getting later in the afternoon.

"Late night?" Coulson smirked. The father and son nodded simultaneously. The agent let them wake up a little before asking if they had managed to look at the packet in Steve's apartment.

"Uh, not really, actually. We had, ahh, just gotten back from the...gym." Steve admitted. Coulson merely nodded, and pulled out a glass screen, exactly like the one that had been left back at the apartment. Coulson fiddled with it for a moment before handing it off to Steve. Leo gasped with shock as he saw a man, strapped to a table with a plastic biting tool in his mouth, become injected with a mysterious green liquid. Instantly, the man's teeth clenched on the hard plastic as his eyes started to glow green. Then, as if that wasn't ominous enough, the poor man screamed and moaned as his body morphed into a large, green, almost feral being. He crashed out of the lab, and started smashing everything in sight, with large roars that definitely didn't sound human. Leo turned away. He couldn't watch anymore.

"We're forty minutes out from home base, sir." One of the pilots reported, as Coulson messed with an onboard computer, headphones on but still able to hear what the man said. Coulson put the headphones back, and stood, walking over to look over Steve's shoulder at the screen.

"So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?" Steve asked, eyes fixed on the scene.

"A lot of people were." Coulson replied. "You were the world's first superhero." Coulson added. Leo smiled.

_Someone's got a man-crush. _

"Banner thought that Gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula." Coulson continued. Steve still couldn't look away as the giant that had been a normal human smashed through cars and buildings like they were nothing.

"Didn't really do his way, did it?" Steve commented. Leo found himself now enraptured by the video. What the two men were talking about, Leo had no idea. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to see that poor guy in person, much less witness him turning into the green giant. Or, _heaven forbid_, he would have to fight the man.

"Not so much." Coulson replied, with a small smirk. "When he's not that thing, though, guy's like a Steven Hawking." Coulson added, earning an odd look. Steve still wasn't caught up on everything that was new. Leo smiled again.

"He's like a smart person." Coulson amended. He inched a little nearer.

"I gotta say..." He started awkwardly, "it's an honor to meet you, officially. I sort of met you. I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping." He said, and Leo guessed he was just saying what first came to mind. Leo had to literally bit his tongue to keep the laughter in. Steve had a _very _amused expression, looking at Leo with laughter in his blue eyes. Which made poor Coulson realize the awkwardness of what he had just said. Especially the implications of it. He blushed scarlet as he tried to fix it.

"I mean I-I was present when you were unconscious...from the i-ice." That did it. Leo laughed, snorting slightly as he did. He quickly got it back under control. Steve, still looking highly amused, stood and walked over to the window above the pilot's pit, elbow resting against the sill.

"You know, it's really just a-just a huge honor to have you on board this..." Coulson stuttered, not finding the right words to finish that sentence as he, too, leaned his elbow against the window sill. Steve continued looking out the window.

"I just hope I'm the right man for the job." Steve commented. Leo was about to reassure his father, when Coulson beat him to it.

"Oh, you are. Absolutely." Coulson said, earning a sudden _extremely _amused look from Leo, who was shaking with suppressed laughter. It wasn't often that Coulson would reveal his creeper-like fascination with Steve Rogers, but when he did, it was guaranteed to be hysterical.

"We made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input." Coulson admitted, with a definite hint of pride. This got Steve's attention.

"The uniform?" he asked, slightly confused. "Aren't the Stars and Stripes a little..." he paused, searching for the right word, "old-fashioned?"

"Wait...what does dad mean by 'Stars and Stripes,' or even 'the uniform?'" Leo asked. Neither man seemed to acknowledge the question. Leo slumped his shoulders, and huffed as they continued talking.

"With everything that's happened, everything that's about to come to light, the world might just need a little 'old-fashioned.'" Coulson said, nodding slightly.

"What does _that _mean?" Leo asked.

"It means you and your dad have a tough job ahead of you." Coulson replied evenly. Steve suddenly felt like warning his son about what Leo would find at HQ...about his brothers. If Leo didn't know before he walked into the HQ...well, let's just say that Leo would not take three turtles like him with the most grace in the world. He returned to his chair, but didn't sit down. Leo followed, curious.

"Hey, Leo..." He started.

"Yeah, dad? You okay?" Leo asked, noting his dad's anxious look, but unable to pinpoint the reason for it. And that made Leo nervous. He never liked it when his dad was anxious. Steve gulped, and took a deep breath.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine...I just...there's something I need to tell you, and I know that this is really not the time, but it's better to just get it out, and over with." He took a deep breath again, as if to steady himself as he motioned for Leo to sit down. Leo shook his head, but moved nearer to his seat. His dad never told him to do something without reason, no matter how silly it sounded.

"Leo..." Another gulp, and a shaky exhale. "Remember when I told you that I found you on one of my missions, fifteen years ago?"

"Of...course, dad." Leo replied slowly, suddenly unsure whether or not he wanted to hear the ending of his dad's announcement.

"Well...it wasn't me exactly how found you that night." Steve said, eager now to get it out, off his chest.

"Whoa...what?" Leo breathed, blinking in total shock. So it turned out that there was something else that his dad hadn't told him. What else could Steve possibly be going to say?!

"...a S.H.I.E.L.D agent found you, after your real dad dropped you off in an alleyway." Here, Steve squeezed his eyes shut, wringing his hands, unwilling to see his son's reaction to the next words that would come out of his mouth. "Along...along with your...your three younger brothers." Steve confessed, unsure why he had added the part about Leo being the eldest.

On the other end, Leo was in complete shock, bordering on denial. He, Leo, an orphan, a nobody, a freak...had three younger brothers?! Suddenly, Leo felt the weight of the world settle on his shoulders, and he collapsed into his chair, painfully aware of Coulson's eyes, watching with compassion and sympathy.

_When when this supposed to have been revealed?! Why hadn't he been told?! Why hadn't they let Leo even know about his brothers?! WHY ALL THIS SECRECY?!_

"I know what you're thinking, bud." Steve said, standing as close to Leo as he could, hands on either of Leo's shoulders. "You're angry. You have every right to be. After all, I'm a liar. Have been your entire life. But there is a reason for it. Fury told me of an enemy your father-"

"Who _was _my father? My _real_ one?" Leo asked, with more venom than he really meant. Steve sighed, and pulled out his phone. The photos Nick had used in the meeting so long ago had been sent over to all party's phones, along with a series of notes. Basically, any time Steve wanted to go on a guilt trip, he had the path already blazed for him. Thanks, Fury. Steve immediately slipped the phone back into his pocket. He would show Leo the pictures after all was said, and done.

"His name was Hamato Yoshi." Steve said, strangely happy to finally reveal to Leo what he shouldn't have hidden in the first place. "He was a Japanese immigrant. His house burned down shortly before he moved to New York, killing his wife and baby daughter." Leo gasped. What an awful way to go...trapped in a burning house. He couldn't imagine the grief that this Hamato Yoshi must've felt. No wonder he moved here. Everything there would just remind that poor man of his dead wife and daughter...

"And how did I-we- all of us come into this?" Leo asked. Throughout this entire speech, Coulson just sat as far away from the father and son as possible, watching the scene play out. He kept his mouth shut, not wanting to make things even more awkward than they already were. Steve rubbed the back of his head.

"Uh, not entirely sure how you became...the way you are now. But I do know Fury said Yoshi bought four turtles, and then, not an hour later, had turned into a anthropomorphic rat." Leo gasped in disbelief. His dad...was a rat?! That must've been a hard blow to Yoshi, still getting over his losses...that must have nearly broke him...Leo sighed, head bowed.

"Wow...gosh. That's awful. Poor Yoshi..." Leo snapped his head up when he heard slight chuckling.

"What?" He asked. "What's so funny?" Leo repeated sharply, before realizing that it had been Coulson who had laughed, not his dad. Nonetheless, Coulson answered the question.

"You two keep referring to him as 'Yoshi' or 'Hamato Yoshi,' but since his mutation, he simply went by 'Splinter', a nickname he got during his time in the military." Leo raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"My dad was in the military?" He asked. Coulson nodded.

"Yes. He had bought you all to help him live for something. With everything that had happened, you can understand why he wanted a companion, wanted something that depended on him..." He trailed off. Leo nodded sadly.

"I wish I could have met him. Or even seen...oh." He breathed. His eyes wide. "I have seen him, and I knew him! _Know _him, even now!" Leo continued, wide eyes now on the floor, not looking up. Steve immediately placed his hand on his son's shoulders.

"L-Leo? What are you talking about?" Steve asked, voice concerned, and slightly panicked. Steve thought that maybe his son was having a mental breakdown. After all, this news would be enough to drive anyone slightly loony. Leo looked at his father, and smiled.

"Turns out we both have been keeping secrets from one another." Leo said, and held up his hand to stall the burning questions on his father's mind. "I've...been having dreams about a giant rat, and-" Steve couldn't hold his questions back any longer.

"Wait...that was when you were little..." He suddenly seemed to put two and two together. "Leo...you didn't..." He said, head tilted to the side, eyes shut in a slight grimace. Leo cringed slightly.

"I did. I just...D-didn't want you to worry about me...and...so I thought that it was the best way." Coulson suddenly seemed to take an interest, again, in this conversation.

"What do you remember?"

"Um, I remember...an alleyway...running along it...being put down...and...then, having to watch as, uh...Splinter knocked on the door as soon as he thought we were all asleep. I remember a dark room, a woman's smile, warm blankets...and red hair...that's about it." Leo confessed, feeling better for doing so. Steve smiled. He was proud of his son, yet mad at the same time. He wouldn't say anything. Yet. It would be hypocritical of him, after all...

"Wow. You even remember Natasha's red hair...interesting." Coulson said, gripping his chin thoughtfully. Then, the pilot announced that they were prepping to land. Leo buckled into his seat. He was still a bit shocked, but now that he was accepting his new reality more and more, he felt happy, and more able to think clearly. He felt that there was a reason for his father's sudden revelation. After, all...his dad rarely, if ever, said or did anything without a purpose. So...why the sudden urge to tell Leo the truth. Did it have something to do with the fact that they were nearing HQ?

Most likely, Leo decided. And he was fine with that, actually.

=#=#=#=#=#=#

It was a well kept secret that Asami Yoshida Hamato hated using the subway system. Oh, she never outright said or expressed it directly, but she did. It was too noisy, and distracted everyone in the city from nature, although there wasn't all that much in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania anyway, she supposed.

But, since she was working for a company that had played a large part in building said system, she got a very good deal on otherwise outrageous fares. Cheaper by far than gas, at any rate.

Every Thursday found her riding the steep incline on the far side of the city. She would buy herself a small meal from a restaurant up there, eat, enjoy the view for a few moments, and then ride back down, and board the trolley back to her apartment. And every Wednesday night she would get a phone call from her older brother, Yoshi. She was ecstatic to learn that she was an aunt to four little boys. Actually, it was around that time that Asami herself also became a mother...to a very..._special_ little girl. She had been found on a mission to shut down yet another evil organization, experimenting on animals, with decidedly interesting results. Lupa was one of the few experiments that actually succedded. She kept in a cell, as with all the other experiments, huddled in a corner, barely a handful of years old. Asami had simply not been able to abandon the girl to her fate, whatever that would be. So Asami had smuggled her home with her. And, since she had always been fascinated with anything to do with Italy, she named her new daughter Lupa, after the Roman goddess of the wolves. Asami found it apropo.

And then, she just stopped getting those calls from Yoshi a year after she received the news about her four nephews. So she just watched TV with Lupa to fill the time the pair usually spent talking to her brother. It was like that for fourteen years before something changed. In fact, it was a Friday evening when she got the call. Her only other boss was on the other end, and she couldn't say no.

The call went like this: "Hello, Asami here?"

'Asami...it's time.'

"Uh, sir? What are you talking about?"

'The AI is about to be activated, and we need you in the New York department.'

"Pardon? Director Fury...I'm in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania! I can't just drop everything and hop on over to N.Y."

'You have 24 hours.'

"Fury? Fury?!" But he had already hung up.

Asami sighed. She should have known better than to even try to get her boss to change his mind. It never worked. She heaved herself off the couch, and got her suitcase out of her closet. Thankfully, Lupa was asleep in her bedroom, unheeding of her surrogate mother's predicament. Then, as she was folding a t-shirt to put on top of a pair of shorts it hit her. Yoshi had long ago told her he had moved to New York city.

She suddenly found this trip a lot less arduous. In fact, now she was looking forward to arriving. She might be able to bunk with her big brother tonight. And finally see her little nephews, who wouldn't be little anymore. Lupa would meet her cousins, and they would be more like a regular family. By her guesswork, her nephews would be about fifteen or so. The same age as Lupa. Give or take.

=#=#=#=

Asami had made Yoshi promise that he would visit her if he ever came to America. That was several years before Yoshi reported that he'd moved to New York, and Asami had lived in America long enough to almost lose her Japanese accent (which always picked up again whenever she spoke to Yoshi). She realized with a small stab of guilt that, though Yoshi hadn't come through with his promise to visit her, at least he had a good excuse. (She was pretty sure four boys would be a rowdy bunch to watch over). She, on the other hand, could've visited at least one time with her reasonably flexible schedule, and one very forgiving boss. (Lupa was easily able to hide her appearance with some baggy cloths and a hoodie, if she needed to leave the apartment.)

Speaking of forgiving bosses…

She then picked up her phone, and dialed her Pittsburgh boss.

Hopefully she could make up for the complete lack of visiting to Yoshi. Also, hopefully, Aaron wouldn't be too upset. And hopefully Fury didn't require her for the AI for too long.

'Hello?'

"Hey, Aaron. Remember that second job I told you about?"

'Yeah...what about it?'

"Well, that boss needs me to go on a business trip, and it's gonna be at most two weeks, but he never said how long it was so..."

'Oh. Umm, well, uh...if he really needs you...'

"He made it pretty clear I can't just not show up. Sorry, Aaron."

'Why must he rob me of my best worker for an entire week?!'

"Aaron...believe me. If it were up to me, I would stay here. But he needs me there..."

'I'm teasing! Go. I'll reschedule the shifts. Don't you worry. You've earned it.'

"Thanks, man."

'Don't mention it, Asami. Just have fun, alright?' Asami had to chuckle at that.

Fury's assignments were oftentimes painful, and life threatening. But she couldn't blow her cover, for obvious reasons. "Well, I'll try, okay?" Asami hung up, and continued packing.

When she was done, she slipped the suitcase into the back of her car. Grumbling about the inconvenient timing, she started driving to the air port, and was able to pull her S.H.I.E.L.D badge out, and get through customs with ease. Fury had apparently already reserved tickets for her. Asami had been told exactly where she had to report in for debriefing, but she was going to check in with Yoshi first, then worry about Fury.

Asami was sure that Yoshi would understand when Asami suddenly had to leave. After all, Asami was the one that had introduced him to Fury in the first place. Only to find out that Yoshi had already met Fury in the army. But the common friendship/kinship meant that they saw more of each other, and because of that, the two had gotten a little closer. Then, that mysterious drop in communication from Yoshi. Very disconcerting indeed.

But Asami could only wander about it since she wasn't in New York. Yet. The pilot had just said another hour or so. Asami settled down, and watched clouds drift lazily out her window as the plane continued it's journey. Lupa was, of course, fascinated with all these new things, asking what each and every part of the planes was. Asami had patiently answered every inquiry, before the excited fifteen year old finally nodded off.

=#=#=#=

Asami immediately knew that something was off about the address she had been given for Yoshi's house. As soon as she had gone inside, she smelt the stale air, and saw the enormous amounts of dust gathered on the various furniture in the living room.

"Hello?" Asami asked as she entered the room. When no one replied for awhile, she decided that the place was abandoned, and from the amount of dust gathering on everything, it had been for a long time.

"Mom...I don't think Uncle Yoshi is here." Lupa whispered.

Asami gulped hard. This was supposed to be the part where the lights come on, and everyone yells 'surprise!' or something. The silence was even more frightening somehow. Asami gulped, and wandered around.

"Probably not, hon. I'm just gonna look around a bit, okay?" She said. Lupa nodded, and started exploring the house.

Ten minutes and a good deal of searching later, Asami sat heavily down on the couch, and pulled out her phone, ignoring the cloud of dust. She reviewed the text from Yoshi that had told her where he lived. That night had been too hectic for Yoshi to actually call. This was the correct address, but apparently Yoshi had neglected to tell her of a move, which in and of itself was highly suspicious. And slightly unlikely.

Then, Asami huffed, and decided to still crash here, since no one else would disturb her till morning. But this would require further investigation while she was here. Oh, yes it would. She didn't care about Fury, if any family members were in danger. Hamato Asami was going to do everything in her power to make sure they weren't.

**I KNOW! THIS CHAPTER WAS _RREEAALLLYYY _LONG. I JUST...HAD A LOT I WANTED TO HAPPEN BEFORE WE WENT ON TO MIKEY'S CHAPTER. WHEW. **

**SORRY FOR MAKING YOU ALL WAIT SO LONG FOR THIS. I WAS SUPER BUSY WITH SCHOOL. AND WRITING ASAMI'S INSERTION INTO _THE FINALE. _WHICH IS IN THE FINAL STAGES OF TWEAKING, SO WATCH OUT FOR IT, K?  
**

**LIVE LONG AND LOVE TMNT! BOOYAKASHA!**

**~LF221**


	10. Assembling AI Part II

**HERE IS THE MIKEY INSERTION, FOLKS! THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! I PERSONALLY HAVE BEEN EXCITED ABOUT THIS. SO I LOOK FORWARD TO YOU'RE REACTIONS! BE SURE TO SEND ME YOUR THOUGHTS. **

**GOD BLESS, AND GOOD DAY! **

**~LFF221**

Mikey had never been this worried before.

Heck, he had never had a _reason _to be this worried before in his life. I mean, Fury has to be called in because some glowing cube is acting up? That's a little scary, and the scientists below that were freaking out were _not_ helping. Clint Barton was trying to calm his paranoid son down, but there was only so much the man could say. He didn't know what was happening, and consequently, he couldn't completely banish the young turtle's fear.

"It's alright, okay?" Barton said with a false calm and cheer. "They're just calling Fury in because this hasn't happened before, and they're about to freakin' pee themselves. They just wanna make sure they're prepared for the worst case-" Barton was interrupted by the sound of klaxons, and an automated voice, causing Mikey to yelp with fright, and fall onto his carapace.

"Talk to me, doctor!" Fury's voice came booming into the room after a few moments of the irritating klaxons. Doctor Selvig, startled by the larger man's sudden appearance, looked like he was very scared, which nearly made Mikey chuckle.

"Director." He greeted, walking over from the strange contraption that the scientists had been working on to 'harness energy from space' as the scientists had eloquently put it.

"Is there anything we know for certain?" he asked, and Selvig gulped thickly. The man glanced back toward the glowing blue cube as an Indian man in a lab-coat approached it with an odd instrument that reminded Mikey of the stethoscope doctors used in check-ups. It sparked for a second before exploding.

"The Tesseract is misbehaving." The good doctor noted, making Mikey actually chuckle for a few seconds, before his father's glare made him shut his trap. The Indian man shrank back, looking at the now shorter, still hot instrument in his hands with a look that Mikey found hilarious. Not that he'd _ever _say that out loud, but still...it was funny.

"Is that _supposed_ to be funny?" Fury demanded as he advanced on the shorter, frankly chubbier man.

"No. It's not funny at all." The doctor replied, "The Tesseract is not only active, she's..." he paused, searching for the right word, "_behaving_." he finally said as the many other scientists, including a new recruit, one John Bishop, bustled about, trying to A.) Find out what was going on with that darned cube, and B.) Find a way to stop it. So far, it wasn't seeming to work. Clint just sat there, watching events unfold without comment, so Mikey followed his father's example, and refrained from asking any of the multiple questions racing through his mind.

"I assume you pulled the plug." Not a question, a statement from Fury was the response. Mikey was now more confused than ever, but he kept his mouth shut, almost having to bite his tongue to do so.

"Well, she's an energy source." The flustered man stammered. "We turn off the power, she turns it back on." He went on. "If she reaches peak level..." the man trailed off, not really needing to finish that thought. No one knew what exactly would happen _if _it were to occur, but Mikey must have been the only one who actually _wanted _to know what could happen. He was so confused...

Nick sent Selvig a confused look.

"You've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space." He said, confusion sounding out clearly in his voice. Selvig looked suddenly very serious.

"We don't have the harness." He said grimly, "My calculations are far from complete. And she's throwing off interference, radiation." He stopped when he saw the director's somewhat nervous glance at the glowing cube in front of him. "Nothing harmful. Low levels of Gamma Radiation." He explained. Fury gazed back toward the shorter man tinkering with the device in front of him.

"That can be harmful." Fury pointed out. Selvig didn't look as nervous as the director, which only eased Mikey's fear somewhat. I mean, if _Fury _himself is scared, then it's a _very_ big deal, right? Fury then looked very quickly around, as if looking for someone.  
"Where's Agent Barton?" He asked when he didn't find the object of his search. Selvig scoffed in amusement despite the potentially quite precarious position they were in.

"The Hawk?" He asked, then pointed up and back with his thumb. "Up in his nest, as usual." He said, before returning full concentration to the matter at hand.

=#=#=#=

Barton was sitting 'up in his nest' near the railing, lost in thoughts.

_What should I do about Mikey? _

_What if that thing gets out of control? _

_What if it lets off a blast? Well, then I'd just jump in front of him, to at least give myself the closure that I tried, I really did, before I die, an-_

A buzzing, static-y sound reached Barton's ears, followed almost instantly by the sound of Fury's voice. So quickly, in fact, that Mikey had a hard time distinguishing when the static ended and the voice started.

..::Agent Barton, Report::..

"Stay. Here. Mikey, and do. NOT. Touch. Anything." Barton said, as he grabbed the rope, and prepared to descend. Mikey slumped heavily, and pouted.

"I never get to do anything fun with you!" He whined, to which Barton chuckled, even as he slid down the black rope down to the bottom. Mikey got into a more comfortable position than the one he had been in. This was gonna take a while.

"I gave you this assignment so you could keep a close eye on things." Fury said, almost as a complaint. Barton managed to keep his irritation in check. He was only up there because of Mikey, whom Fury said _never _to tell anyone about.

"Well, I see it better from a distance." Barton said. Then leaned in ever so slightly. "Besides, it's the perfect cover to simultaneously watch over Mikey. He's usually up there with me." The man added, whispering so as not to alert the other scientists, who knew nothing about Mikey. Fury bit back a sigh. Of _course_ Barton would bring Mikey along. Natasha would agree, as they thought a lot alike on many things. Honestly, those two were as bad as Mikey sometimes.

"Did you see anything that might set this thing off?" Fury asked, pointing to the Tesseract. He would deal with Barton's problems later. Before the shorter man could reply, a female scientist, sounding slightly British, peeked out from one of the many, many screens around the room.

"Doctor? It's spiking again." She said, and Selvig rushed over.

"Well, no one's come or gone. Selvig's clean; no contacts, no ." Barton reported, almost sounding bored. "If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end." Barton added, crossing his arms over his chest. Fury turned to him with an odd, confused expression.

"'At this end?'" He repeated. Barton nodded.

"Yeah. The cube is a doorway to the other side of space, right?" He asked rhetorically. "Doors open from both sides." He went on when Fury didn't look any less confused. Suddenly, Selvig's muttering increased, as blue spikes of energy came crackling out of the cube, causing the building to shake. Mikey nearly fell over onto his shell, flipping over the railing and falling to his almost certain doom. But he managed to keep himself reasonably balanced. Barton cast a nervous glance up to the small balcony he had left his surrogate son on. But then his attention was grabbed, as was Mikey's, as the energy coursing off the cube became larger and larger, ending with a beam of cosmic energy shooting out of the cube, creating a view of outer space, like a portal. Which got wider and wider, until finally, it collapsed, sending a wave of almost tangible energy out across the room. It slightly tickled for a nanosecond, before the feeling was gone. The residual energy collected back in the dome above where the portal had opened. And there, smoking slightly, crouching low to the ground, was a man. Or maybe a woman? The long hair threw Mikey off as he gazed worriedly over the railing to see what caused the tickling sensation. The several guards around the room gathered together before approaching the man, dressed in some odd, yet somewhat Asgardian-ish clothing apprehensively. Everyone else was left to breath heavily in shock and wonder as the man raised his head, almost maniacal smirk on his face. Then, the man slowly stood as the guards continued to approach. Now that he was standing, it was evident that he had some kind of shortened spear, with a glowing blue tip to it in his hand. Fury took one glance at it, before deciding to break the tense silence.

"Sir? Please put down the spear." he demanded. The man raised the spear, gazing at it as if he was just now realizing that he still held onto it.

It took all off Mikey's willpower to not slide down the rope, and help his dad. This was insane! It was the coolest thing that had happened to him since his mom went out on a mission a couple days ago. To...Russia wasn't it? But then, Mikey's musing was cut off, as the man fired a bolt of the now all too familiar blue energy. It collided with a loud crashing sound into a large machine, and Barton just had time to tackle Fury out of the way before it would have killed the two men where they stood. That did it for Mikey, who slid down the rope in a matter of seconds, and sprinting over to his uncle of sorts and father, not forgetting to pull his hood up as soon as he had landed.

"Mikey, I told you to stay up on the balcony." Barton snapped as he stood, but Mikey simply grinned back.

"I know. But you were in trouble and-" Barton then had to push his son behind him as the mysterious man continued to engage the guards around him, firing multiple bolts from his spear-like weapon. Clint himself ran into a different position, distracting the man from even noticing Mikey, and fired a few shots at the man, but to no avail, ending up having to roll away as yet another bolt nearly took his head off for the second time that night. Kicking the last of the guards into the wall, where the unfortunate man crumpled to the ground, out cold, the man then panted as he gazed around angrily. Clint had run back and tackled Mikey at the last bolt of energy, and now was slowly standing, only to have the man there, ready to kill, judging by his gaze. Clint tried to shoot at the man, guarding Mikey behind him, but to no avail. The man twisted Barton's wrist, and Mikey gasped, but knew that his dad could handle the situation. At least, the young turtle trusted him to.

"You have heart." The man noted, still twisting Clint's wrist painfully, earning a frustrated and pained grimace from the now slightly desperate man before him. Mikey gulped. He didn't like the way the man was talking to his dad. He sounded British, almost, but creepier. Like a scary villain in one of Mikey's favorite horror or action flicks. As Fury stood, he called softly to Mikey to come over to him. Mikey did, not wanting to put his dad in more danger as Clint tried to protect him. He was glad that the man didn't chase him, but he was worried for his dad. Really, really, _really _scared, too.

Then, as Mikey reached Fury, the man tapped the glowing part of the spear to Barton's chest. Instantly, Clint groaned and squeezed his eyes shut as tendrils of bluish-white light shot up his neck, and encased his eyes. When he opened them again, Mikey gasped with shock! His dad's eyes were completely black! All of them! Then, when the black faded, his eyes were left a cold, hardened, icy blue. He gazed at the newcomer, and relaxed, letting out a breath as the man smirked, and holstered his gun.

_What the shell?! What did that guy just do to my dad?! Why is dad now acting like he's a friend?! What's going on?!_

Mikey thought, gazing at the now emotionless face of his father with extremely high amounts of concern, confusion, and worry as he stood behind Fury, too scared to move.

"D-dad? Y-you okay?" He asked, but only got a cold, hard, blank stare back. Mikey drew back. This...wasn't his dad anymore. Not after whatever that man had done to him. Mikey bit back tears as the Asgardian looking man walked around, tapping many more agents as they recovered from his previous assault. Mikey watched as Fury silently slipped the Tesseract into a portable containment case, snapping it shut as he stifled a hiss of pain. That thing _burned_!

"Come on, Michelangelo. Let's go." He ordered, barely above a whisper.

"Please don't." The man said, not even looking at them as he was finishing tapping yet another man. "I still need that." He smirked, turning to face him as Fury froze. Mikey stood warily by his surrogate uncle's side, hairs on the back of his neck raising. He had a _very_ bad feeling about this...

"This doesn't havta get any messier." Fury barked, only turning his head slightly, tightening his grip on the case with the Tesseract subconsciously.

"Of course it does." The man retorted. "I've come too far for anything else." He added ominously. Mikey gulped thickly. Fury gestured Mikey behind him as he turned to face the man. Mikey was trembling slightly, adrenaline pumping through his veins. There was no way he and Fury alone could stand a chance against both the brainwashed agents, and the mysterious man, who narrowed his eyes.

"I am Loki. Of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose." The man said. Mikey was shocked. Loki was a character in Norse mythology, not real life. There was simply no way that this man could possibly be Loki. This must be a dream, right? I mean, it was just the other day that Natasha was teaching Mikey all about Norse myths, right? Unfortunately, there was no myth that could explain the glowing spear. Then Selvig stood from examining the woman who had alerted him to the spike of energy that had brought Loki here.

"Loki? Brother of Thor?" He asked. Fury raised a hand as Loki glared at all and sundry with a sudden anger.

"We have no quarrel with your people." Fury assured Loki. Loki didn't look convinced. In fact, if anything he looked amused. And that worried Mikey.

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot." he retorted smugly. Mikey was panting with anxiety, sweat dripping down his neck as this conversation went on, eyes flitting back and forth between the two men. Fury smirked.

"Are you planning to step on us?" he asked. Loki smirked in response.

"I come with glad tidings. Of a world made free." He replied. Mikey narrowed his eyes in thought. What on earth did _that _mean?

"Free from what?" Fury asked.

"Freedom." Loki said, "Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart," He went on, then suddenly spun to tap Selvig with the spear. Selvig drew back only an inch or two before the tip touched his chest, giving him those horrid blue eyes Mikey was coming to both hate and fear.

"No!" Mikey cried, but Fury kept Mikey behind him. There was no way that Mikey was gonna get brainwashed. Not on Fury's watch.

"you will know peace." Loki said.

_Yeah, right. This guy is certifiably insane! And he's making other people join his madness with whatever that spear does to the mind. _

Mikey thought as he looked up at the portal above his head. It was growing larger, sucking in some of the ceiling tiles as it expanded. Barton noticed, and glanced up as well.

_Oops. Gave that one away. Smooth, Mikey. Smooth. _

Mikey scolded himself.

"Yeah, you say peace, but I kinda think you mean the other thing." Fury retorted.

"Sir? Director Fury is stalling." Barton interrupted. Mikey inwardly facepalmed. Why, oh why did he have to look up? Then, the plan might have worked. I mean, they would both be dead, but Loki wouldn't be able to do whatever it was he wanted to do, right? "This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us." Clint continued. "He means to bury us." he finished, narrowing his eyes in anger at both Fury and Mikey.

"Like the pharaohs of old." Fury replied wryly. Selvig, as soon as Barton has opened his mouth, had gone over to the of the few screens that still worked.

"He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. We've got about two minutes before this goes critical." Selvig reported. Loki turned to Barton, who was standing at his side.

"Well then." He said. Next instant, Clint's gun was out and shooting. Director Fury flew backwards and, having stood in front Mikey, collapsed onto him with a grunt.

"Fury!" Mikey cried, as Barton grabbed the dropped case with the Tesseract inside it. Mikey struggled to get out from under Fury's limp body, biting back tears. He couldn't cry yet. He had to get out of here before the building imploded. "No!" He managed as he saw Loki and his new minions calmly exit the room, leaving the portal to it's deadly work. Then, Fury sat up, relieving the pressure on Mikey's chest. The relief was almost tangible. Fury grabbed his walkie-talkie. He had to warn Hill before Loki got away...

"Hill, do you copy?" Fury asked with a pained groan as he tore the bullet out of his bullet-proof vest. Mikey smirked. He shouldn't have been so concerned. Fury was always prepared. "Barton has turned." He said simply.

"Come on, Michelangelo. We're leaving!" Fury called as he half-ran, half-stumbled out of the room. "They have the Tesseract. Shut them down." He shouted into the mic. Fury ordered Mikey up to the main floor to find Coulson, and stay with him.

"What about you?" Mikey cried over the portal and the shaking building.

"I have a exit strategy! Now GO!" Fury snapped back. Mikey took one last look at Fury before turning on his heel, and sprinting out, searching around multiple garages before finding Coulson in the very last one. He was ordering agents into vehicles, and about to enter one himself. Coulson was deliberating, however, eyes flitting around the room, even as he put a foot onto the small step, and prepared to heave himself into the truck.

"Uncle Coulson! Got any more room?" Mikey cried, not slowing down. Coulson whipped around, relief on his face. Mikey had made it out.

"Yeah, I do. Come on!" He called, and Mikey literally dove into the large truck. He sat up shakily, and sat in the seat next to his surrogate uncle.

"Fury's still down there!" Mikey cried. The shaking was getting worse. A whole _lot _worse. Mikey's heart was threatening to jump out of his chest.

"Yeah, and so is Agent Hill. Dang it!" Coulson cursed as he raised his own walkie-talkie to his mouth. "We're clear upstairs, sir. You need to go." He called into it. Mikey watched as the area directly over the portal rose up for a few seconds before collapsing, just as the helicopter rose into the air. Mikey released the breath he never remembered holding. Fury was safe. Then, he remembered the other person still in danger.

"Aunt Maria..." He breathed. Coulson wrapped an arm around his worried surrogate nephew.

"I'm sure she's gonna be fine."

"But the building's collapsing! If she can't get out..." Mikey replied, burying his face in his uncle's chest. He couldn't lose any more of his surrogate family. He just couldn't...

"She'll be fine." Coulson said, with no guarantee himself whatsoever. And the fact that the building was collapsing far faster than he thought possible was _not_ helping. He leaned forward tensely, waiting to see if Maria Hill had made it...

There was no sign of her. Mikey was leaning over Coulson, straining to see what had become of his so-called aunt.

"Aunt Maria!" He screamed when he never saw a vehicle come out. The truck sped down an old dirt road as the helicopter above it swerved out into the field in hot pursuit of the van containing Loki and the brainwashed agents. It hovered over it for a few seconds before a blast of energy hit it, causing it to crash into the field.

"Fury!" Mikey screamed. Coulson had to literally haul Mikey back inside the truck. The poor kid was borderline hysterical with worry and fear. Coulson grabbed his walkie-talkie as Mikey quivered in his seat next to him.

"Director? Director Fury, do you copy?" He asked. It seemed to take an eternity for any response to come back.

..::The Tesseract is with a hostile force::.. Came the reply. ..::I have man down. Hill?::..

..::I have a lot of men still under. Don't know how many survivors::.. Came Hill's reply. Mikey felt relief wash over him. Maria was alright.

..::Sound a general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase::.. Fury ordered.

..::Roger that::.. Hill replied.

..::Coulson, get back to base. This is a Level 7. As of right now...we are at war::.. Fury said. Mikey took a sharp inhale. In the space of a few hours, his day had gone from boring, standard guard duty, to a pulse-pounding adrenaline-rushing race for his very life.

"What do we do?" Coulson asked.

..::We get ready. Call..._everyone _in::.. came the crisp reply.

"Everyone, sir?" Coulson asked incredulously. "Are you sure? You know how _she_ gets when she has to come in on this kinda short notice."

..::I am aware of that, Coulson, but we need everyone we can get. Know what? _I'll _call _her_ in, if you get Stark and Donatello::.. Fury replied. Mikey gasped. He was finally going to meet his brothers? Maybe all of them, by the sound of it. He knew about them, of course. It had been a 'present' for his tenth birthday. Clint and Natasha had sat him down, and came forward with the truth that A.) They weren't even a couple (pretty obvious, but still a bot shocking, to be honest.) B.) He wasn't their biological son, and C.) That he was an orphan. That one had stung the worst. Not only was he adopted, but as far as he knew, his brothers were his only biological family left...and he had yet to meet them. Officially. But who was this woman Coulson seemed so reluctant to call? That was definitely something he looked forward to finding out. And he _would _find out, one way or another.

"Where are we going, Coulson?" He asked, leaning against his uncle's shoulder, suddenly quite exhausted. Coulson wrapped his arm around his nephew's shoulders and carapace, pulling Mikey closer.

"The helicarrier." He replied. Mikey frowned.

"What's that?" Coulson chuckled.

"You'll see."

=#=#=#=

Asami sat on her cot in the small room that was essentially an apartment. She had just arrived on the Helicarrier. And had been privately debriefed on the situation. Turns out that there was a madman taking the name of a Norse mythology character, running around with the Tessearct, several brainwashed agents in tow. She frowned at the ground, deep in thought. This was a stunning turn of events. And not the only one of the day.

"_Fury, can I ask you a question?" Asami asked, before she could change her mind as she turned around to face Fury. Fury nodded. "Where's Yoshi? He wasn't at his apartment. In fact, it looks like it hasn't been lived in for a long time, and-"_

"_He's gone, Asami." Came Fury's short reply. That set her heart pumping. _

"_W-what?" Asami said, suddenly feeling faint._

"_He was killed, fifteen years ago." Asami collapsed into one of the few armchairs littering the director's office. Why wasn't she told as soon as the body had been discovered? Why had Fury kept it a secret? _

"_H-how? Who did it? What-" Was all Asami's frazzled brain could come up with._

"_We're not entirely sure. One of our agents was checking in on him, per my request, when he literally stumbled into him. Nearly gave him a heart-attack." Fury replied. Asami was breathing hard, barely holding her tears back._

_This...wasn't possible. Had Saki found Yoshi already? She was well aware of Yoshi's predicament with Saki. In fact, it was only through her connections with S.H.I.E.L.D that she had avoided that whole mess altogether. If only Yoshi had joined, as well...but he said he didn't need protection. Asami buried her head in her hands. She hadn't even said goodbye. She had too scared of his reaction to Lupa, and so had tactfully avoided her side of the deal. How stupid she had been! It shouldn't have been a problem how her big brother would react to Asami's adopted daughter. She should have just bitten the bullet, and got that ticket a lot sooner. Too late now, though..._

_Then, Fury walked over and stood next to her. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, gripping a picture in his hand. Asami was literally biting back tears as she raised her head, and saw the small photo. She hesitantly took it. It showed a...giant rat? What the heck?! He was lying across a sewer tunnel, blood pooled around him. His throat was slit, and it looked like he had been stabbed in the chest. All in all, a grim picture. _

"_What is this?" She breathed. _

"_Yoshi, though he had changed his name to Splinter after...that change happened. He adopted four boys, as you well know. They were...just as special." Now Asami knew why his death had been hush-hush. But still, she would have liked to have been aware of her brother's...change as soon as it occurred. Wait...her nephews...**were **very special...oh, no. _

"_'Were?'" Asami repeated, slightly hysterical. Her nephews were killed, too? _

_Please, no. LORD NO! Not them, too!_

"_Oh. Sorry." Fury was quick to amend himself. "I meant to say that they ARE just as special. They're perfectly fine." _

"_Okay." Asami said, relief washing over her like a tidal wave. "Where are they? Can I see them? How are they special?" Asami suddenly blabbed as Fury gave a trademark smirk. _

"_You'll just have to see. I'm calling them in for this." And with that, she was excused before she could ask any more questions. Asami felt empty and numb as Agent Hill led her and Lupa to her room. Hill had been just outside the room during the entire conversation, and as such had heard everything. As she opened the door for the two newcomers, she gave Asami a sad smile. _

"_I am so sorry about your brother. I only saw him a few times. He was a good man." She said softly. Asami sighed. _

"_Thanks, Maria. That...means a lot." Lupa looked a bit concerned as she followed her mother into the room/apartment. As soon as the woman left them alone, Lupa turned to her mother._

"_What's wrong, mom? You look and smell like you just lost the lottery." She joked lamely. Asami collapsed against the cot nearest her. _

"_I, uh, I found out what happened to you Uncle Yoshi. Why h-he wasn't at his apartment." She managed. Lupa sat eagerly down next to her mother. The tears were finally coming out now, making Lupa look all the more concerned. _

"_Where is he?" _

"_He's...he's...dead." Asami gasped out. Lupa gasped, tears already pricking her eyes. She always was quite emotional. Asami sighed, and tried to gulp down the lump in her throat. _

"_Fury isn't very sure how exactly it happened. Just that his body was found in the sewers." Asami said softly. Lupa hugged her mom from the side. Asami had been so happy when she had come into Lupa's room late at night a few days ago...and shone the bright overhead light and shook Lupa's shoulders with a little too much force. But when Lupa heard that she was finally going to meet her uncle Yoshi, she had joined her mother's squeals, adding her own squeals to rival Asami's. It hurt Lupa to see her mom like this. _

"_That's awful." Lupa then gasped. "D-do you think that...Saki was behind it?" She whispered. Asami had told her daughter of the ancient, complex and somewhat petty rivalry between the Hamato clan and the Saki clan. And how this generation's Sakis and Hamatoes had carried on the tradition, causing Yoshi to flee to New York to avoid Saki's wrath. _

"_Most likely. But...I just can't fathom how Saki was able to locate Yoshi so quickly." Asami said, shaking her head in bewilderment. This was so much news to process at once. It hardly seemed fair._

_..::Asami. I need you to welcome our incoming guests::.. Came Fury's voice over Asami's earpiece. _

"_When?" She replied, pressing the Push-To-Talk button on the top of the small device. Lupa gave her a confused look. Asami pointed to her ear, and Lupa nodded. _

_..::In a few hours. I'll let you know where to pick them up::.._

"_Roger that." Asami said. _

Now, she still sat on the cot, awaiting whomever was coming. Then, she got an idea. Why not work her emotions out in the Helicarrier's gym? After all, she needed the workout. She quickly changed into exercise cloths, and told Lupa where she was headed as she left the apartment-like room.

=#=#=#=

She landed blow after blow as tears flowed over her face. Life, it seemed, was full of wasted opportunities, and promises not kept.

Why hadn't she gone to New York a heck of a lot sooner?!

_Punch, punch, punch..._

Asami was not known as a hesitant young woman. In fact, people have told her not to rush into things. On multiple occasions. So why hadn't she packed her bags, got Lupa ready, and bought that plane ticket?

_Punch, punch..._

Maybe...'cus she was too scared that Yoshi wouldn't accept where life had led his little sister. Because she looked up to him, even training in Ninjitzu to please him. He was her role model, best friend, and the best big brother she could have wanted. Her fear and trepidation had led to her never visiting, and now she was regretting that decision more than any other decision she had ever made. She honestly didn't know what she'd been thinking. She punched the bag harder, anger at herself powering the attacks. Eventually, she had hit it so hard, it came swinging back, and smacked into her diaphragm, knocking her back a few feet, and she hit the padded floor hard on her back.

_Ouch! That hurt like crazy! Ah-ha-OWW!_

Asami thought as she panted, laying on the floor. She was too tired all of a sudden to get up. Her stomach churned due to the blow it had received. She groaned.

"That...wasn't my brightest moment." Asami said as she picked herself up.

"No, it really wasn't." A new, young, and falsely cheerful voice came from by the door. Asami whirled around, regretting it as her head spun, to find a young man, hooded black S.H.I.E.L.D agent suit covering most of his body. Asami looked him over a second, and could pick up this kid's frazzled emotions easily. He had been through something pretty traumatizing, that much Asami could tell. She sighed. Better to play it cool. She started walking over, toward the boy, to introduce herself.

"It really wasn't." Now that she was closer to him, she could see tear tracks, tracing his cheeks and staining his bright orange mask and...green face? What?! She hesitated for a second too long, and the boy sensed her shock, and drew back several feet.

"Please don't scream! I swear I won't hurt you!" He cried, hands up as I to defend himself. Asami took a deep breath, and regained her composure.

"Sorry for startling...you..." She said, trailing off as she gazed at the boy with a curious eye. There was something...familiar about his young aura. Like...someone she knew was residing in this young man. And she knew exactly who. The very man who had been dead for the past fifteen years, which led her to this very gym. Her mind was locking up, unable to deal with this situation.

"Y-Yoshi?" She breathed, backing up with wide, unseeing eyes. Mikey started after her, large baby blue eyes worried and concerned.

"N-no, ma'am. My name's Michelangelo, but everyone calls me Mikey, for short. Are you okay?" He asked, drawing nearer to the wide eyed borderline catatonic woman. Asami sank to the floor. After finding out that her older brother was changed into a humanoid rat, she really shouldn't have been this surprised that at least one of his foster sons was as special as Yoshi had been. But after just learning that her brother was dead, and then seeing one of his four sons all in the same day...it was all too much for her to handle. Her eyes rolled up into her head, and she collapsed to the floor. Mikey caught her just before her head would have hit the hard floor.

"Ma'am? Ma'am?!" He cried, shaking the unresponsive woman. He felt her pulse, and found it was still beating steadily under his fingers. He breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked her over. She was a typical thin, tall Japanese-American woman, with large almond-shaped eyes, darker skin, and stick-straight jet black hair, cropped shorter, reminding him of Roxanne Richy in one of Mikey's favorite movies, _Megamind_. Her eyelids were covered with a light dusting of neutral eyeshadow, eyelashes darker due to mascara. Which was running down the woman's face. She must have been crying, he mused. Gently, Mikey swiped the dripping makeup away, wiping it on his suit. He kept her head in his lap while trying to think through what had gone wrong. She had apologized for overreacting, then gazed at him with that odd stare, then she just wigged out, calling him...Yoshi. A Japanese sounding name, to be sure, but he wasn't Japanese. He didn't know anyone who was Japanese, right? Mikey thought deeper and remembered something from his talk with his parents on his tenth birthday. Hamato Yoshi was the name of Mikey's first father, the one who had been chasing him in his dreams. The man/rat creature.

_So...how did this woman know...oh, no! She must be somehow related to Yoshi, like a sister-in-law or something. I mean, she looks too old (no offense) to be anything else. And...whoa. She somehow sensed and/or knew that I was Yoshi's son? That's so awesome!  
_Mikey thought as he searched for her S.H.I.E.L.D badge, finding it on a nearby bench.

Hamato Asami. That was her name. Age 35, and immigrant from Japan, as he had suspected. Man, he was good at deduction. Well, most of the time. The woman suddenly groaned, and shifted as her eyes fluttered for a second before opening. They were a beautiful mix of Sapphire blue and Emerald green. Odd color for a Japanese-American woman. She sat up, and looked around. Then, she groaned.

"Danggit! I was hoping today was just a dream!" She moaned. Then turned and gazed at Mikey. "Hey, Mikey, are you, uh, related to...a guy named Hamato Yoshi? He's a Japanese-sounding guy. Tall, um, brown eyes, thin, I think, and um, kinda shaggy brown, black and white...fur. And I mean, like, all over his body. He's a rat-guy." She said.

"Yep. Sure am! In fact, I was his foster son before he...died." He said, head bowed and gaze locked on the floor. Asami chuckled.

"Yeah, I know about that. In fact, I knew him. He was my brother." She said, tapping her fingers together nervously.

"Yeah...I kinda looked at your wallet. You're name's Asami, right?" Asami chuckled. Somehow, that didn't really surprise her. He would probably have wanted to put two and two together about her after her little...uh, freak-out. She blushed slightly.

"Figures. So...I guess you must've been, what, a year old when Yoshi died?"

"Two, I think. But yeah. I was pretty young. I don't really remember a lot about him. Just that he was a kind man. He took real good care of us, down in some kinda station, I think. Like I said, don't remember a lot about him." Mikey replied with a shrug. Asami nodded, arms wrapped around her drawn knees.

"Oh. Do you have any brothers?" She asked. Mikey nodded eagerly.

"Oh, yeah! Three, I think. And Uncle Fury said that they might be coming in! Isn't that cool?!" Asami breathed a sigh of relief. Fury meant that all four were fine and dandy. It's not that he lies necessarily, but he does love to compartmentalize, and that means half truths at the best of times. For example, saying 'they were fine' could mean that all four were fine, but it couldv'e also meant that only at least two were fine, while the other two were dead, or something.

"Wow. That's great! Do you know anything about them?" She asked, trying to sound casual, upbeat even.

"Uh, not much. Just that, uh, they're separated the day Yoshi died, but I remained here. It's been a pretty good life. I know a lot about fighting. My parents taught me everything I know." He said, getting this adorably whimsical expression, sitting with crossed legs and a huge smile.

"Who are your parents?" She asked. Instantly, she knew she had said the wrong thing. Mikey's face drooped, and he fixed his gaze on the ground.

"Clint Barton's my dad...and Natasha Romanov is my mom. But don't tell anyone outside S.H.I.E.L.D their real names. You know, for their safety and all..." He said, wringing his hands, refusing to look Asami in the eyes. Then, Asami remembered the debriefing Fury had given her on the situation that brought her to New York in the first place. Some guy calling himself Loki had swooped into S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters, via a portal created by a glowing blue cube, and stole it, brainwashing several agents, including Barton, as he did. Now, Fury was forced to initiate the AI, out of desperation. That was a little scary, but Asami refused to think about what the future held. Not for a few more moments. She reached out, and drew Mikey in for a tight, but not painful hug.

"It'll be alright, Mikey. You're father will come around again. I just know it. You'll see." She said.

"Guess you heard, huh?" Asami couldn't lie.

"Yeah, I did. But we'll get him back. And I'll be here every step of the way. I promise." She said, gripping his chin and forcing him to look at her. He gave Asami a sad little grin, and hugged her.

"Thank you, Asami. Wait...can I call you Ba-san? You know, cus you're my aunt, and stuff..." He trailed off, sheepishly adorable grin on his face. Asami's grin was wide enough to rival Mikey's on a good day.

"Of course you can. If I can call you Oi-kun. Cus you are, in fact, my nephew." the hug was deepened, but only for a few seconds before her phone started ringing. She pressed the button that sent the incoming call to her earpiece.

"Moshi-Moshi? Asami here." She said, as she smiled and ruffled Mikey head, was causing the hood to get all twisted around. Mikey chuckled, straightening his hood. Giving up, he let it fall down onto his shoulders.

..::Incomers arriving on the Deck, Asami. ETA, Ten minutes::.. Asami blinked. How long had she been here, talking to Mikey?

"Roger that, Director. Who is it?" She asked, wanting to know beforehand so that she can pretend to be no more than a simple agent who has read up on them.

..::Banner, and his son, Raphael. Oh, and tread carefully around Raphael. He can be...easily provoked::..

"Yes sir. Leaving now, sir." She said, and hung up. She sighed. She had wanted to stay here with Mikey for a little while. But such is life, Asami supposed. She heaved herself off the floor, picked up her few things, slipping on a black agent's jacket over her exercise tank-top. Then, as she reached the doorway, she glanced over her shoulder.

"Hey, Oi-kun. You wanna come along?" She teased, playful smirk evident. Mikey beamed.

"Shell yeah!" He cried, drawing his hood up again, and running up to his aunt. Asami smiled back. Maybe, this day wouldn't be as bad as she thought.

**HAHA...POOR ASAMI. SHE SHOULD KNOW THAT NOTHING GOES QUITE AS PLANNED WHEN YOU THINK IT WILL. I'M SO EVIL...HEHEHEHE. ANYWAY, THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE EITHER RAPH'S, OR DONNIE'S ARRIVAL WITH THEIR 'PARENTS' IT'LL BE SO MUCH FUN! HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER, AND ALL THAT. TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS, AND STUFF. YOUR REVIEWS ARE A VERY GOOD REASON THAT I AM WRITING. **


	11. Assembling AI Part 3

**HERE IS THE LONG AWAITED NEXT CHAPTER, Y'ALL! I DO APOLOGIZE! I LOST MY _AVENGERS_ DVD, SO I HAD TO FIND IT, AND THEN SCHOOL AND OTHER STORIES GRABBED MY ATTENTION, BUT I AM BACK! WWHHOO! LET'S GET THIS GOING, SHALL WE? OH, AND SLIGHT LANGUAGE IN THIS CHAPTER, AND MAYBE A FEW OTHER PLACES. I DO TRY TO AVOID USING IT IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, BUT IT SEEMS STUPID TO JUST SWAP THINGS LIKE 'HELL' FOR 'HECK' IF IT'S ADULTS TALKING. NOT TO MENTION VERY UNREALISTIC.**

**GOD BLESS, AND GOOD DAY!**

**~LF221**

"How's that breathing apparatus working, dad?" Donnie asked, pressing his earpiece into his ear with slight worry. It had been a few minutes since Tony had gone underwater, thus starting an experiment long in the making.

..::Fine, kid. I was just...focusing.::.. Came the calm, almost emotionless and distracted reply. But Don knew his dad cared about his concern. He was just busy cutting Stark Tower off New York City's power grid. No biggie.

"Don...you worry too much." Came the amused, almost laughing voice of Pepper Potts as she wrapped her surrogate son in an embrace from behind, kissing his bald head lovingly. Don smiled.

"I know, I know...I just worry when dad's taking this big of a risk." Pepper beamed down at her little genius.

"I love you, Donnie. Happy Birthday." Don then chuckled.

"Right...It is my birthday...celebration." He said, smirking. Pepper laughed. She opened her mouth to speak, but Tony's chuckling cut her off.

..::Happy Birthday, bud. How's this for a birthday present, kiddo?::.. Don laughed.

"Not bad. I'll like it better when I know you're not in danger." Pepper rolled her eyes. Tony laughed.

..::Don...I am not in any danger. We did good on this breathing apparatus.::..

"I know that!" Don huffed. He couldn't help it if he worried. It was his nature to worry. Far too much.

..::Do you?::.. Tony replied, and Don could hear the smile in his voice.

"Yes, I do."

"Boy, boys!" Pepper called, waving her arms, exasperated. "You're both pretty! Stop arguing!" Don blushed. Tony huffed.

"Sorry, mom."

..::You know I'm prettier than him, right?::..

"Tony..." Pepper sighed.

..::Sorry, Pepper. Anyway...on my way out of the water.::.. Don looked up sharply from fidgeting with the holographic controls for Stark Tower. He chuckled, then adjusted a few levels. ..::Good to go on this end, Don. The rest is up to you two.::.. Pepper frowned slightly. It had taken a fairly short amount of time to disconnect those lines...

"You disconnected the transmission lines? Are we off the grid?"

..::You doubted me?::.. Came the sarcastically hurt voice over the phone. ..::Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining, clean energy.::.. Pepper threw up her hands in mock surrender.

"Well, assuming the arc reactor takes over and it actually works?" She said, cocky grin earning one from Don, who was prepping the Tower for it's new power source.

..::I assume. Light her up!::.. Tony said, and Pepper and Don did. They held their breath as the reactor powered up and started powering the tower. Then let that breath go as the levels held and all systems remained as if the power source hadn't just been changed.

"How does it look?" Pepper asked, voice slightly above a fairly seductive whisper Don wished she wouldn't use when he was around. Tony hummed.

..::Like Christmas...but with more...me.::.. Don scoffed.

"Like you aren't a big part of our Christmas anyway?" Pepper laughed.

"Anyway...we've got to go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press." Tony groaned internally, pretending to not notice Pepper, instead fixing his gaze squarely on the Tower. "I'm in D.C tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next three buildings." Tony had heard enough.

..::Pepper...yer killing me.::.. He groaned. ..::The moment, remember? Enjoy the moment?::.. Tony had been trying to get his girlfriend to relax, let loose and enjoy life more recently. Don giggled. Pepper smirked.

"Hmm. Get in here, and I will." Don rolled his eyes. He always found it cute when his 'parents' actively displayed affection in front of him, but there were times it got a little much. Then, they heard the loud _Thump! _That meant that Tony had landed outside, and would be inside the Tower soon. Or at least, Don did. Pepper was too far away and too engrossed in the power levels dilating on the holographic screen in front of her.

"Levels are holding steady, Don. I think." She called, worrying her lip as Don reached into the refrigerator, pulling out a can of _Dr. Pepper_ from the fridge. He smirked and waved to his dad as he crept in, finger to his lips. Don smirked.

"Cool." He said. Tony was nearing Pepper now. And she had no idea. Tony gave a trademark smirk, tiptoeing nearer...

"Of course they are. I was directly involved." He said, a touch of arrogance to his voice. Just a touch. Pepper gave her boyfriend an affectionate smirk, chuckling. "Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius?" Tony asked as he circled around Pepper, chucking his earpiece down as he did so. He reached under Pepper's arms and flipped the holographics off, and Pepper turned around to face Tony as he did. She chuckled.

"Oh, well. I wouldn't really know, now would I?"

"What do you mean?" Tony replied, looking slightly confused. "All this, came from you...and Don." Tony added, waving at his girlfriend and son with one arm. Pepper smirked.

"No. All this," She said, gesturing to the Tower at large, "came from that." Her finger then tapped the glowing circle in her man's chest. The arc reactor. Donatello knew all about that. He knew about how his dad had been kept in a cave for several months, only given enough food and water to survive and the equipment to build a missile. However, he had used that equipment for a different purpose. To keep shrapnel that had gotten lodged in his chest during his kidnapping away from cutting into his heart. Don also knew he was adopted not too terribly long after Tony had gotten back and dealt with a close friend's betrayal, and then a cheap copycat, who used his technology for vile purposes. He just didn't know all the details surrounding his sudden appearance at Stark Tower. In fact, he could hardly remember anything from when he was that young...except his dreams. Those were the only clues he had. That sad rat-like man and the other sleeping turtles. And the red hair of whomever had pulled him and the turtles into that darkened room. But he had never dared to trouble his parents about it. After all...it was just a dream.

Right?

"Give yourselves some of the credit. Please. You and Don. Stark Tower is your baby." Tony said, ending Don's musing, one hand rubbing Pepper's arm, the other wrapping around Don, who had come over with his can, bored with watching the nightlife of New York and monitoring the power levels. After all, he was directly involved, along with his dad. And they were always cautious and calculating when it came to these kinda things. It would hold up for a least a year. And this was just a prototype. "You guys give yourself 12% of the credit." Pepper deadpanned.

"'12%'?" She repeated.

"Seriously?" Don asked, smirking. Tony sighed.

"An argument can be made for 15."

"Because that's so much more than a measly 12%" Don muttered, sipping at his can.

"12%?" Pepper asked again, walking away. "My baby?" Tony looked slightly guilty.

"Well, I did do all the heavy lifting." Pepper continued walking toward the lounge pit, Tony following, where an ice bucket awaited them with champagne already cooled. "Literally, I lifted all the heavy things. And, sorry, but that security snafu?" Tony asked, nearing the pit where Pepper started pouring out glasses of the bubbly beverage. "That was on you."

"Nuh-uh." Don groaned, tossing his can into the trash before collapsing on the couch, clasping his hands behind his head.

"Oh." Pepper replied sarcastically.

"My private elevator." Tony reminded. Don rolled his eyes. So what if Pepper didn't want Tony to have a fingerprint sealed security elevator in _their_ Tower? It was hardly fair for Tony to even consider it.

"You mean our elevator?"

"It was teeming with sweaty workmen." Tony complained. Pepper scoffed. Tony then got a slightly scared look about him. "I'm going to pay for that comment about percentages in some subtle way later, aren't I?" Pepper than pursed her lips in mock consideration.

"It's not going to be that subtle." she said, handing him a filled glass of champagne, a playful smirk on her lips.

"I'll tell you what: Next building is gonna say 'Potts' on the Tower." Tony offered. Don knew she wouldn't take it. She was still flustered at being called Tony Stark's girlfriend by the paparazzi whenever they went out.

"On the lease." She countered. Tony hissed in consternation.

"Call your mom. Can you bunk over?" Pepper laughed, and opened her mouth, but then Tony's phone rang.

..::_Sir, the Telephone._::.. Jarvis called out. ..::_I'm afraid my protocols are being overridden_.::.. Don raised an eyebrow. Had someone been trying to call Tony this entire time? Tony looked resigned as he reached for his phone.

_..::Mr. Stark, we need to talk._::.. came the voice of the caller. It was male...Don frowned. He hadn't heard that voice since his 10th birthday. Uncle Coulson hadn't exactly made an effort to be constantly checking up on him over the years. Tony held the phone nearly at arm's length, and gathered a blank expression.

"You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark." Pepper laughed, rolling her eyes. Donnie chuckled. His dad was immature at the best of times. "Please leave a message."

..::_It's urgent.::.._

"Then leave it urgently." Came Tony's sarcastic reply. Donnie rolled his eyes once again. Typical Tony Stark. Immature genius at the best of times. Tony then looked up sharply as the elevator that was never fingerprint-sealed beeped open. His eyes widened to see Phil Coulson standing there, phone to his ear, looking slightly irritated and amused at once.

"Security breach." He then turned to Pepper, smirking. "It's on you." She gave him one of her famous 'are you serious right now?' looks. Before turning to the agent with a warm smile.

"Phil! Come in." Pepper called, standing up. Tony frowned. He was in the middle of a moment with Pepper. Now was not the time to have Phil of all people come in and ruin it! Okay. Now he sounded like a spoiled child. Which, in some ways, he still was.

"He's already in, Mom." Don snarked, smiling as he nodded in greeting. Coulson returned it.

"You know what I mean." Pepper replied.

"'Phil'?" Okay, Tony obviously knew what the man's name was. He just wanted to guilt trip him for not taking more time for Don these, oh, _five_ _years_ or so. I mean, seriously, Don missed him all those birthdays, and now he shows up, probably with some catastrophic news of some kind. _Joy._

"I can't stay." Phil said, and Don perked a bit at the way his uncle's voice was almost...pressured? Worried? It was weird...his uncle was always calm and collected, spouting off sarcasm and sass at top speeds. Now he indeed was relatively calm, but there was that edge to his voice Don didn't like.

"His first name is 'Agent'." alright, now he was just being childish. Tony knew that, and accepted that.

"Come on in. We were celebrating." Pepper said, shutting Tony's poor, immature attempt at guilt-tripping down.

"Which is why he can't stay." Tony muttered through gritted teeth forced into a smile. Sure, he was happy to see Phil Coulson, but he would rather it not be when he was getting nice and cozy with Pepper and Don for the evening. He intended to test the wi-fi on the new power systems and stream Netflix with popcorn and Root Beer aplenty. Not listen to Phil.

"We need you to look this over as soon as possible." There it was, the kill-buzz. Tony didn't want to look anything over right now, besides Pepper, maybe. But definitely not the tablet Phil held out. So he used his 'I don't like to be handed things' excuse. It should work.

Danggit all! Pepper took it, knowing Tony always took what Pepper gave him. She gave the agent her glass of champagne. She then took Tony's and drained half of it in one go. Don rolled his eyes. He knew his parents liked their alcohol, especially Tony. It didn't bother him unless they got drunk. Then he took issue.

"Official consulting hours are between 8 and 5 every other Thursday." It was a last ditch effort.

"This isn't a consultation." Coulson said. Tony frowned. So did Don. He was getting more and more worried. This was weird...something told Don this wasn't a social visit, either. Oh, man. This must be about that hacked Avengers Initiative file on his dad's computer he wasn't supposed to know about.

"What's wrong, Uncle Coulson?" Donnie asked timidly. He somehow knew that his uncle was not here for Netflix and champagne.

"Is this about the Avengers?" Pepper asked worriedly. If her boyfriend was called in...naturally, Donnie would want to go, too, then Pepper would have to refuse to let him go. It was one thing to work nonstop in the lab on potentially dangerous projects, but going into whatever was so bad, they needed to assemble the Avengers...no way on God's Green Acre that was gonna happen! Pepper then caught her mistake. Coulson's smirk gave it all away. He really should have known that Tony had hacked the Avengers Initiative. "Which I know nothing about." She added hurriedly. Tony scoffed. No matter what, he was gonna refuse to be apart of this. His family needed him.

"The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought. And I didn't even qualify." He snarked, reluctantly interested in the tablet-thing in his hands. What could be so bad, that SHIELD was calling in the Avengers? What had Coulson so tense? Pepper smirked.

"I didn't know that, either." She said. Donnie chuckled.

"Yeah, you did, Mom. Remember? Dad ranted to you about it for, like, two hours."

"Oh, yeah" Pepper replied, looking falsely thoughtful. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others."

"You?" Don asked, eyes wide. "Nah..."

"That I did know." Pepper replied, chuckling. Don chuckled, as well, walking over to his father to see what the fuss was about. Coulson sighed.

"This isn't about personality profiles anymore." Don frowned.

"Then what _is_ it about?" He asked. Coulson didn't reply audibly, but the darkened look to his eyes was enough reply for Don to be disturbed. What could be so bad that they were calling in _any_ and _everyone_ that _might_ be able to help? Tony sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Mrs. Potts, got a second?" He asked. He needed to talk to her. He knew he didn't _want_ to go with Coulson, but he knew he probably _should_. He wanted a second opinion. That, and he just wanted her near him. She was there in a moment. "You know, I thought we were having a moment."

"It's not Mom's fault it was ruined, Dad." Don replied, chuckling. Tony sighed.

"I was having 12% of the moment." Pepper replied sarcastically. Don chuckled.

"Not subtle at all, Mom."

"Told you it wasn't going to be." She snarked. "But...this seems serious. Phil's pretty shaken."

"How would you know it's..." He then caught the second part of what Pepper had said. "Why is he 'Phil'?"

"He is our son's uncle, Tony. We should start calling him his proper name." She then looked at what Tony was trying to access. "What is all this?" She whispered. Tony finished accessing the computer and activated the holographic portion to better see everything.

"This is...this." He said, almost overlapped by the sounds of all the biographies on the various candidates for the Initiative. They included SHIELD agents, Thor, Hulk and Captain America. Don's jaw dropped. Over half of these people were raising his brothers. Naturally, his parents felt it would be unfair to him to keep something this big and life-changing from him. He had been shocked, and angry at never seeing his brothers, until he heard the reasons behind Fury's move. Then...he was stunned. His father...his real father...was gone. He very vaguely remembered a rat-like figure with kind brown eyes and soft fur, murmuring Japanese lullabies to him, or talking on that phone of his with his sister, Asami. He'd never heard his aunt's voice, but desperately wanted to meet her. He'd heard she worked for SHIELD from Uncle Coulson, but...again, had never seen her.

And now...he could potentially meet his real brothers! How could Tony even consider _not_ going?! Don had taken years of karate and various other self-defense classes, plus training with his father helped sharpen his skills.

"I'm going to take the jet to D.C tonight." She whispered, stunned at the heroes before her, letting out a breath of shock. Tony frowned.

"Tomorrow." He suggested. Don groaned. His dad didn't want to go in. Don, on the other hand, wanted to. Badly.

"You have homework. A lot of homework. Both of you." She replied, eyes never leaving the files, any of them.

"I did mine this morning so I could work in the lab." Don murmured, entranced. He was watching his surrogate aunts and uncles fighting for SHIELD and the greater good, plus Asami, his real aunt. This was amazing. Tony bit his lip, knowing that Don wouldn't like what he was about to say.

"Well, what if I...didn't?" He asked. He didn't want to put Don in a potentially dangerous situation. He knew that Don would find a way to go with him, and Tony didn't want that. If he could be sure that Donatello would stay with Pepper somewhere safe, like D.C, it would be different.

"But, Dad...I could meet my brothers!" He hissed. He could handle whatever his father could! Why couldn't Tony see that? Pepper understood her son's position. While she'd be worrying like crazy...she knew there was no stopping her son from going with his father into whatever why happen out there.

"If you didn't?" She asked coyly, smirking. She was about to just say 'go. It'll be fine.' and suffer the consequences.

"Yeah." There was an underlaying discussion going on between his parents that Don wished he could pick up on.

"You mean when you've finished?" Don waited with baited breath. Please, please, please, let Pepper convince Tony to go with Coulson, and to let Don go, as well...

Tony reluctantly nodded. He just couldn't say no when Pepper and Donnie united on something. Pepper got that look in her eyes again, leaning closer to Tony. Don looked away.

"Well, uh, then..." She whispered something in Tony's ear that had him grinning like a kid on Christmas day. Don knew he'd never want to know what she said. It was bad enough she was going it with an audience. _Get a room...please..._he thought, looking at his uncle with a scandalized expression that earned a smirk in return. Don blushed and looked away from his parents. He may not mind their public displays like this, but that didn't mean he wanted to watch that all the time, either.

"Square deal. Fly safe." Tony said, clearing his throat. It took a second for that to register. Did Tony just say he was going?! Whoa...no way!

"Thanks, Dad!" He squealed, hugging his Dad. Tony blanched. Now that he had agreed...he was having second thoughts...like any parents should. He took a deep breath. Pepper then came and gave her boyfriend a kiss, slow and sincere. There was no need to say anything. They both knew that they could be kissing for the last time for a while. They both knew, and nothing more needed to be said.

"Work hard." She whispered as she walked toward the elevator to the bedroom to get her things before she left. And it appeared Coulson was going on the elevator right with her. She made sure the agent could drop her off at the airport, and out of politeness, she asked about that one cellist that Phil had pursued...but she was more worried about other things. As soon as the elevator door closed, she turned to him. "So...what's really going on?" She asked, playing with her fingers. Coulson sighed, and his shoulders slumped.

"It's...classified. And...complicated." He replied.

"Anything to do with the other turtles?" She pressed. She wanted to know what her boyfriend and son were getting themselves into...not that she could do anything about it now. Phil grimaced.

"...Can't say for certain, but if all goes well...the Hamatos won't be strangers anymore."

"That's wonderful! Donatello's been dying to meet them ever since we told him about his brothers." She explained, smiling. She didn't feel so bad about sending Don away now.

0o0o0

Back down in the main room, Tony sighed.

"It'll be fine, Dad." Tony sighed as he picked up a hologram of a glowing blue cube. It seemed important.

"I can't help but worry, Don. You know that." He replied. Don frowned, looking at the info listed below the holographic image. "The tessaract?" He read. Then blanched. "'Stolen'?!" Tony nodded.

"I think that's our mission, bud." He said. "Getting the cube back." Don read on, his eyes narrowing. "Says here some dude calling himself 'Loki' is the thief. 'Armed, extremely hostile, and capable of Mind-Control'?!" He yelled, suddenly regretting his decision to go with his father. Just what were they getting into here?! Tony frowned.

"This'll certainly be...interesting."

"That's an understatement." Don breathed. He really wanted to stay, but he also wanted to go, to help his dad and make sure they both got home in one piece. That, and meeting his brothers was definitely a bonus.

=#=#=#=#=

Mikey ran beside his newly discovered aunt, Asami, along several hallways. He was elated. _Beyond_ elated, to have found a member of his whacky family. She knew _Splinter_, Mikey's...well, the closest thing he had ever had to a biological father, besides his totally _wicked_ foster parents, not to mention the other Mom he had, in the country, that no one knew about...and his younger human siblings he only got to see every once in a while. Wow, his family was huge.

But he wasn't ever to mention that he had siblings other than the turtles...one of which he was about to meet. To say Mikey was excited would be a _vast_ understatement. He was _so_ jazzed! He was even beyond jazzed. This was even better than the time he started martial arts training with his 'parents'.

He grinned and grinned and couldn't stop, which kept his aunt's grin firmly in place, which was great. He knew she was a wreck, but he would be there to salvage what he could and help her recover, that you could rest assured of. The pair of grinning idiots paused to catch their breath, as well as collect and resume their professional expressions. Mikey also had to slip his hood up. There was no guarantee that his bro even knew about him. Which was depressing to think about. He managed another grin again at Asami, who chuckled and opened the door, taking a deep breath of the crisp, fresh air, blinking in the sudden light. She walked calmly toward the freshly landed aircraft. The landing ramp was down by the time she got there. Two people descended. One, a middle-aged man with slightly graying hair and a wariness in his eyes, which were a startling green. The other was a teen boy, in loose-fitting jeans and an emerald green hoodie that looked too hot for this weather. His Converse looked far too big for his feet. In other words, he was hiding his mutant appearance in plain sight, like Mikey, who was still grinning, though Asami had, reluctantly, lost hers.

"Good evening, Doctor Banner, and...Raphael, is it?" Raph grimaced. He didn't much care for his full name. He had gotten used to Bruce calling him 'Raph' all the time.

"I prefer 'Raph', but yes. That's my name." He said casually, with an air of hardly forced politeness. Banner shook Asami's hand cordially.

"Good evening, Ma'am."

"Please, call me Asami. Right this way." She said, smirking as she led the man and his son, Mikey in tow, toward the door leading back inside. It was then that Mikey slowed a fraction to fall in step with Raph, nearly skipping along in his giddy excitement. Raph, to the contrary, slumped huffily along. He really didn't want to be here. He felt it was stupid of SHIELD, asking his father to come in when they didn't know if he would even be useful, or in control of his 'other guy'. Who knew what would happen?

"Ssoo..." Mikey said. Raph merely shrugged. He really was not in the mood for this.

"What?" Now he was being rude. Raph tried to get his temper under control.

"I'm Mikey." This kid never stopped grinning, did he?

"Yeah? So?" Raph really shouldn't have been this stupid with the poor kid, but hey, he was not happy with life right now...he rolled his eyes. His father had taught him not to be this rude and cynical. "Sorry. I'm Raph." Mikey beamed at him like he was sharing some big secret. It was then that Mikey noticed, barely, the familiar simple twine strings attached to what Mikey knew was a pendant. That was why Mikey was grinning so vividly. He knew he should act more professional, but heck with professionalism right now, Mikey thought. He was meeting his _brother_, it's not like he was _supposed_ to be a typical agent around him, right? But Raph must not know about them being siblings. That sobered the energetic turtle up a little. Raph was grateful. He was tired, and angry. Never a good combo...

"What are you here for?" Mikey asked. Raph shrugged. He had been asking himself that question ever since that redhaired lady showed up and ruined everything...what was her name again? Natalie Roman-something-or-other, wasn't it? No, it was Natasha. That much he knew.

"Dunno. Don't think there was any other place they could stick me, to be honest. You?" Raph said. Mikey grinned. Raph was already pretty cool. Of course, the fact that they were siblings was already a big cool factor. Mikey looked forward to getting to know his big brother.

"Yeah. Same. So..." Raph could sense the mood darkening.

"What's up?" He asked. This turtle was definitely hiding something. Mikey shifted on his feet as they watched another plane land.

"You know what's going on, right?" Mikey asked timidly, like 'please don't make me explain. I really don't want to'. Raph frowned. Not really. He did know that something with the potential energy to wipe out the planet was stolen, but nothing much beyond that.

"I...not exactly. I know something was stolen. Something, apparently, that 'has the potential energy to wipe out the planet', whatever that means. But beyond that...not much. Neither does Dad, but he's gonna try and find this object." Mikey nodded. He knew he had pushed his brother, and he didn't want to go too far in the first meeting, make the wrong impression. That, and the memory of what 'the object''s thief had done sobered him. And he didn't want to go into details about what had happened with anyone yet. Certainly not someone he had met, like, five minutes ago, even if it was his brother. Mikey took a deep breath.

"Yeah. Here, uh, let me show you to...oh, good." Mikey grinned. "Come on! This'll be good." He said, walking quickly over to where another aircraft was landing. Mikey was ecstatic. Not only was another of his brothers on that plane, but Captain-freaking-AMERICA! The guy Uncle Coulson would never shut up about! This must be a dream!

=#=#= (Calcutta) =#=#=

The little girl, sadly, was probably the highlight of Raphael's night.

Which was not all that surprising, seeing as he was waiting for his dad to finish his rounds. Raph admired his father's drive to help people. He really did. It's just...did it _have_ to be _so_ boring?

The girl told Dr. Banner about her father, who had the same symptoms as the people Bruce was currently finishing treating. Raphael had picked up the language somewhat. Enough to get by. That was it.

The girl held out money as payment if the good doctor would come now. Raph was starting to think that maybe running after an unknown little girl was less than a great idea the further toward the outskirts they got. Just as the girl climbed out of the window, Raph subtly gripping his weapons, those lovely sais of his, in readiness. His ears strained for anything out of the ordinary.

"Should have gotten paid up front, Banner..." Bruce berated himself, chuckling bitterly as he leaned against a pillar, staring at the window that the girl had disappeared through. Raph, on the other hand, was tense as a coiled spring, waiting for whatever he was sure was going to happen. And he knew _something_ was gonna happen...

"You know, for a guy who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a helluva place to settle." A woman's amused voice said, coming into the room from behind a wall that separated bedrooms. She was smirking and pretty.

Raph was immediately distrustful. The woman had cropped red hair that seemed almost dyed, a flowing maxi shirt with tribal print, and sash over a tank top. Bruce blinked. Raph narrowed his eyes. This lady spelled trouble, that much Raph could be certain of. Bruce chuckled.

"Avoiding stress isn't the secret." He replied, taking a step toward her as he dropped the bag of medical supplies on the ground. Raph was still very suspicious. Apparently, Bruce was comfortable with this lady already, which was a record. The woman smirked. Evidently, she knew of Raph's father's condition.

"Than what is it? Yoga?" Okay, so she had a sense of sarcasm and humor. That much Raph could relate to, but he'd be dead before he was caught with his guard down. She turned to Raphael. "Nice to see you, Raphael." She said, smiling at him. Raph let the sais drop in his shock. This woman already knew his name?! He blinked. She did seem almost like...nah, it was just a dream from his childhood, to match the one with the other turtles. Nothing to even consider as reality. All she had in common with the woman from his dreams was the red hair. Bruce hadn't lost his smile, and Raph couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not.

"You brought me to the edge of the city." He noted. "Smart."

"What the heck is going on?! How the heck does this lady know us, dad?!" Raph demanded, thoroughly creeped out. Bruce sighed.

"I was just about to ask, Raph." He said, turning back to the woman at hand. She still hadn't lost that smirk. Raph found that extremely unnerving. "I assume the whole place is surrounded?"

"Just you, me, and your son, who really should drop those sais." Raph frowned. This woman seriously expected him to trust her right off the bat? HECK NO! He held them loosely at his sides, but didn't put them away. Not until he could be certain that this freaky lady could be trusted.

"And your actress buddy? Is she a spy, too?" Bruce asked, with a humorless chuckle. "They start that young?" The woman's eyes flashed with something like a terrified, haunted expression, but it was gone before Raph could really register anything. Maybe he had imagined it...

"I did."  
"Who are you?" Natasha almost sighed. Naturally, neither of them would really remember her. That meeting had been so long ago and Raph wasn't even there...or was it that Bruce was only acting like this to avoid having to tell Raph about his siblings? Well, that's gonna have to change. Raph was going to have to meet his siblings in a matter of hours. Bruce needed to have that conversation with his surrogate son. Soon.

"Natasha Romanoff." That name was clearly Russian, Raph noted. She didn't sound or really even look Russian, though. A false name, perhaps? Most likely.

Bruce played with his hands for a few seconds. "Are you here to kill me, Ms. Romanoff? Because that's...not gonna work out for everyone."

"Nope." Raph growled. Natasha chuckled. Raph was still the same hot-head Bruce told her about when she was bored enough to make social calls. Plus, it was nice to not have to play the tough as iron field agent all the time. It helped her keep her humanity and sanity. Of course, being a mother helped, as well.

"No, of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD." She explained. Raph cocked a brow. SHIELD, that do-good organization that was deep in everything around the world? Why would they send someone...oh, man. Aw, heck no his dad was not coming in!

"SHIELD." Bruce repeated, chuckling. "How did you find us?"

"We never lost you, doctor, since you came in last." She replied pointedly. She was getting desperate. Natasha needed to get him to come with her, now. "We've kept our distance, let you do your thing with Raph for awhile, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent...for you and your son's protection." She added, which probably didn't help. Raph's eyes were white as they narrowed.

"Why?" Bruce asked. Natasha almost sighed in exasperation. Why was Bruce making her spell it—oh. Raph needed to be sure that this would not be a threat to either his father or himself. Honorable. Smart.

"You know why." She explained patiently, nodding subtly to Raph, "And besides, Nick Fury still seems to trust you. But now we need you to come in. Again. With Raph." That nearly had Raph attacking the lady (how dare she come in here, essentially kidnap his father, and then demand that the pair come in for something that had yet to be known!), but something stayed him. Maybe it was that this woman could have been hostile, but she wasn't. She was fairly friendly, if that meant anything. Probably didn't. Maybe it was that Bruce was clearly familiar with this woman. _How_ familiar was yet to be determined. Raph was on edge. Bruce frowned. This was hardly fair. They had been doing so well here, not making the wrong name for themselves, keeping Raph out of sight, and just well in general. Raph had just forgiven his father for being pulled out here. And now they were being pulled back into the ocean of uncertainty that had been their life, which would probably mean an awkward conversation about his brothers...aw, nuts...why hadn't he sat Raph down and told him yet?!

"What if I say...no?" Natasha's smirk heightened. She had somehow known he would say that.

"I'll persuade you." Bruce's eyes hardened. He had upheaved Raph's life enough on his own. He did _not_ want his son thrown into SHIELD's operations and all the crap that came with that. Plus...who knew what SHIELD wanted this time.

"And what if the...other guy says no?" If she tried to use force, heck to the yes he would go green, without hesitation. He'd move back to Richmond, blend right back in, say Raph had been in a exchange student program, _anything_ but go with her! Natasha suddenly cocked her head, smirking as if reprimanding a child that was threatening a tantrum. Bruce didn't appreciate it.

"You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak." Raph swallowed. This lady really knew his father, didn't she? Bruce bit his lip. Of course she knew him better than that. It was obvious. Who would _want_ to go green? He certainly did not _want_ to, but he would if necessary. Absolutely.

"Well, I don't every time get what I want." Raph paled, the woman forgotten as he turned to his father.

"Dad, no. You _can't_!" He hissed, pleading and urgent. Bruce stared calmly back at his son.

"I have it under control, Raph. I'm just letting Natasha know the stakes."

"She already does." Natasha replied sarcastically. Raph nearly smirked. Nearly.

"Stay outta this!" He growled. Nat shrugged, but pulled out her phone.

"Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe." She said, as if stating that she liked the weather this evening. Raph cocked a brow.

"What?"

"Heh. Well, those I actively try to avoid."

"No kidding." Raph breathed. How was this lady so calm? Natasha chuckled. It was always nice to see Bruce, thought it never happened often. Then, the picture of the object that had caused this whole mess popped op, and she sobered.

"This," She explained, sliding the phone toward Bruce, who came over despite himself. After all, this didn't mean he was taking the job, right? "is the Tessaract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet." Raph blinked, not liking where this was headed. Bruce put his reading glasses on, and picked the phone up to examine this mysterious box.

"Is this a joke?" Raph spat, glaring at the screen. "_That_ thing could wipe out the planet?"

"Yes." Natasha said, and something in her voice told Raph just how serious she was.

"What does Fury want me to do, swallow it?" Bruce snarked, looking both amused and irritated. This was not what he wanted to do anymore. He really wanted to settle down with Raph back in Richmond...let Raph get at least _some_ years as a normal person. He did _not_ want to go with Natasha. But if this was as serious as she was suggesting...he may not have a choice. Natasha decided not to make a snarky comment and just give him facts.

"He wants you to find it. It's been taken." She said, fighting off a catch in her throat at the memory of that phone call that had her rushing over here. This was not the time for emotional sobstories. "It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be." Raph groaned. Of course they needed his dad for gamma stuff. That side of him would never go away. There was always someone who needed his expertise on gamma radiation. Always.

"So, Fury isn't after the monster?" Natasha let her eyes close in slight exasperation. Of course Bruce would assume that. Perfectly natural. Sad, but natural. Her eyes locked with his, and she knew she couldn't lie.

"Not that he's told me."

"And he tells you everything?" Bruce was quick to retort. Rather than answer, Natasha leaned in a little on the seat she was on.

"Talk to Fury. He needs you on this." Nat pressed. She needed to get him in. Now. Mikey needed his dad back. Bruce wasn't finished asking questions, however. He had to be sure.

"He needs me and/or Raph in a cage?"

"Hold on, dad. Why would they-" Raph halted as Nat spoke again.

"No one's putting either of you in a-"

"STOP LYING TO ME!" Bruce roared. Natasha reflexively pulled the gun concealed under the table. Better safe than sorry. Raph jumped in between the gun and his dad.

"Whoa! Calm down!" Raph yelled, hands out to keep the two apart. Natasha regretted the reflexive move horribly now. Incredibly stupid.

"Raphael...move aside." Natasha pleaded. She didn't know what would happen if Bruce went green. Neither did Raph.

"No. I'm yer best shot at keeping dad calm, lady." He said in a low growl.

"No need to worry." Bruce said suddenly. To be honest, he had slipped just a little, for added affect. Nothing too far. Like Nat said, he didn't want to break his streak. "I'm sorry. That was mean. I just wanted to see what you would do." Bruce explained, leaning out from Raph slightly to address the woman properly. He was smirking again, like a child that had startled his parents, and this time, Raph was pretty sure it was a bad sign. Natasha didn't lower the gun, just in case.

"Raph...move." She said. She had to be sure that Raph was not in danger, should things get ugly. Bruce frowned.

"Look...why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that," He pointed to the gun, "Raph doesn't go berserk, and the other guy doesn't make a mess. Okay, Natasha?" the woman in question was still wondering if she could put the gun down, but she knew the right choice. She pressed a finger to her earpiece. Pulling the gun triggered an alarm. She hadn't been lying when she'd said that the three of them were alone. But they weren't now.

"Stand down." She ordered. "We're good here." Bruce smirked.

"'Just you, me and Raph'?" Natasha had no response. "Well...it appears like we have no choice." Natasha didn't know why, but she wanted Bruce to know that she hadn't lied to him. They ha been alone at that moment. It really had been just the three of them.

"They only came when I pulled the gun. It triggered an alarm."

"Who cares?" Raph spat. "You tricked us, gave us no choice. This is as good as kidnapping, Mrs. Romanoff!" He did remember her last name now. She swallowed.

"I know, but...you're our best shot at finding that cube. Any other way, I'd be doing it, but here I am, and I need you to help me." Raph growled, but waited for his father's verdict. Something in Natasha's voice spoke to Bruce. He swallowed. He most likely will very much regret this, but...

"I'm in."

**BOOM! DONE! I KNOW MY ORIGINAL SCENES ARE CRAP. PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! **

**THIS WAS FUN TO WRITE. IT REALLY IS. I'LL DEFINITELY WORK ON THIS SOME MORE, SO...KEEP A LOOK-OUT! I CAN'T TELL YOU WHEN THE NEXT ONE WILL BE HERE, BUT I CAN SAY I WANT TO WRITE MORE, BUT I NEED SLEEP!**

**GOODNIGHT!**


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